Date:
20060606
Docket:
A-105-05
Citation:
2006 FCA 206
CORAM: LÉTOURNEAU J.A.
NADON J.A.
PELLETIER J.A.
BETWEEN:
ADIL
CHARKAOUI
Appellant
and
THE
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
and
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL OF CANADA
Respondents
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
PELLETIER J.A.
[1] At the time the motion at the
origin of this appeal was filed, Mr. Charkaoui had been detained under section
82 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27 (the
Act), since May 21, 2003 because he is believed to be a member of a terrorist
network. On the fourth review of his detention, Mr. Charkaoui filed a motion
for a stay of proceedings, alleging certain infringements of his right to
procedural fairness. Although Mr. Justice Simon Noël (the designated
judge) dismissed the motion (see Charkaoui (Re), 2005 FC 149), he
nevertheless concluded that Mr. Charkaoui was no longer such a threat to the
security of Canada that his detention was justified. See Charkaoui Re (F.C.),
2005 FC 248, [2005] 3 F.C.R. 389.
[2] Mr. Charkaoui has filed three
grievances against the decision of the designated judge. First, he submits that
his right to procedural fairness has been breached because certain information
was belatedly disclosed to him. Second, he alleges that the destruction of the
notes and recordings (if any) of his interviews with the Canadian Security
Information Service (CSIS) is a breach of the CSIS duty to disclose any
information it has to the respondent Ministers (the Ministers) and the
designated judge. Mr. Charkaoui alleges that these constitute two infringements
of the procedural fairness guaranteed to him by section 7 of the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter), and that they entitle
him to a remedy under section 24 of the Charter, and in particular a
stay of proceedings affecting his inadmissibility to Canada.
[3] Finally, Mr. Charkaoui challenges
the receipt by the designated judge of certain new information that has been
placed in the record on two grounds. First, the respondent Ministers had no
knowledge of it when the certificate was issued in his regard. Second, this
information is not credible or trustworthy in the light of other information
that he has offered.
[4] For the following reasons, I do not
accept Mr. Charkaoui’s arguments. I rule that the designated judge hearing this
matter properly dismissed his requests.
THE FACTS
[5] On November 9, 2004, the designated
judge set the date of the fourth review of Mr. Charkaoui’s detention at
January 10, 2005. On December 30, 2004, the Ministers’ solicitors asked the
designated judge for an in camera hearing in the absence of Mr.
Charkaoui. Notwithstanding the objections of Mr. Charkaoui’s solicitors, the
designated judge held this hearing on January 5, 2005, in the course of which
the Ministers’ solicitors informed him that they had learned of a document
which should have been disclosed to Mr. Charkaoui at the outset of the
proceedings but which inadvertently had not. This document consists of a
summary of two interviews of Mr. Charkaoui with CSIS officers held on January
31 and February 2, 2002. The designated judge ordered the immediate disclosure
of the summary to Mr. Charkaoui’s solicitors.
[6] Also during this hearing, the
Ministers’ solicitors filed some new allegations concerning Mr. Charkaoui
contained in the new information received, allegations that were not part of
the record when the Ministers signed the certificate of inadmissibility in his
regard. These allegations concern his involvement in certain events in Morocco.
On January 6, 2005, the designated judge disclosed to Mr. Charkaoui a
summary of this new information, which he described as follows in paragraph 27
of the reasons for the decision at issue:
- the investigation concerning Mr. Charkaoui is
ongoing;
- the Moroccan authorities have identified
Mr. Charkaoui as being a member of the Groupe islamique combattant
marocain (GICM) [Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group];
- the GICM is a group linked to Al-Qaida and is allegedly
responsible for the attacks of May 16, 2003, in Casablanca and of March 11,
2004, in Madrid;
- during a trip to Afghanistan in early 1998,
Mr. Charkaoui is alleged to have taken military training and theological
training in the Sharia institute at Khalden;
- the emir of the GICM, Noureddine Nafia, who is being
held in Morocco, reveals that Mr. Charkaoui was indoctrinated by a Libyan
imam;
- some funds have allegedly been collected in order to
establish cells in Canada, Pakistan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom;
- Mr. Charkaoui has maintained contact with, and
allegedly sent CAN $2,000.00 to the GICM and allegedly gave a laptop computer
to a member of the GICM.
[Hereinafter, the new allegations.]
[7] On January 10, 2005, at the hearing
on the review of his detention, Mr. Charkaoui opposed the reception of the
new allegations on the ground that they had not been submitted to the Ministers
when they endorsed the certificate concerning him and that accordingly they
should not be considered by the judge who will rule on the reasonableness of
the certificate. Mr. Charkaoui further challenged the reliability of the
new allegations. For this purpose, he filed a piece of information from the
Moroccan consulate in Montréal according to which he is not being sought by the
Moroccan authorities, which is said to contradict the new allegations.
[8] As to the summaries of his two
interviews, Mr. Charkaoui asked the designated judge whether there were still
some notes or recordings of these interviews. The judge in turn put the
question to the Ministers’ solicitors, who inquired of CSIS. The judge was
informed that, under an internal policy of CSIS, the notes of both interviews
were destroyed after making the summary. In regard to recordings, CSIS did not
know whether the interviews were recorded but, in any case, there are no
recordings in the file.
[9] In the light of this information,
Mr. Charkaoui filed his motion for a stay of proceedings, alleging a
serious breach of procedural fairness. He argues that, on its face, the summary
reports the existence of certain exculpatory statements, the content of which
is not reproduced in the summary, although one would expect to find them in the
interview notes and certainly in the recordings of the interviews. The summary
reads as follows:
INTRODUCTION
Adil CHARKAOUI was seen on 2002 01 31 and
2002 02 02. On the first contact, CHARKAOUI said he was prepared to clarify
point by point what the Service might hold against him. He said he was prepared
to undergo a polygraph, although he made fun of that tool. On the second
contact, CHARKAOUI reverted to his defensive mode, saying he was being
persecuted by the authorities, by the Service. Saying he has never done
anything wrong, he refutes our allegations to the effect that some accused such
as RESSAM had recognized him. He says this time that he refuses to undergo a
polygraph and storms out. CHARKAOUI left many points unsettled, for example:
CHARKAOUI says he never went to Afghanistan, but he admits he went to Pakistan,
without indicating what he was doing there. Failing any second thoughts and a
change in attitude, CHARKAOUI did not leave us under the impression that he
would meet the Service again.
[10] Mr. Charkaoui says the
destruction of the interview notes and recordings, if any, infringes his right
to procedural fairness in that they would be of assistance in finding out what
clarifications he made in response to the CSIS allegations. The absence of this
information means that neither the Ministers nor the judge have access to all
the relevant information.
THE DECISION UNDER APPEAL
[11] The designated judge dismissed the
request to stay the proceedings. After having summarized the parties’
submissions, he ruled that there had been no breach of procedural fairness that
irremediably compromised the ongoing proceedings. First, he said he was
prepared to postpone to a later date the oral evidence that Mr. Charkaoui
was preparing to give, in the context of the review of his detention, so that
he need not testify before considering the summary of the interviews. On the
substantive issue, the judge found that the absence of notes or recordings was
not detrimental to Mr. Charkaoui because he was present at the interviews
in question and his testimony as to what happened would be the best evidence.
Consequently, the judge was of the opinion that no harm had been done in the
circumstances and that if there were any it has been removed.
[12] Concerning the relevance of the
summary, the judge stated that, although it was part of the evidence before
him, [translation] “[these
summaries] are not necessary in order to demonstrate directly or indirectly the
foundation of the facts and the allegations on which the proceeding is based”
(reasons of Noël J., at paragraph 15). In other words, these interviews had no
relationship to the allegations against Mr. Charkaoui.
[13] The judge accepted the submission by
Mr. Charkaoui’s counsel that the CSIS is required to file with the
Ministers all of the information at its disposal when it seeks the issuance of
a certificate. However, the judge did not adopt the argument that the destruction
of the notes and recording of the interviews made impossible the disclosure of
all of the information to the Ministers. The facts and allegations on which the
certificate is based are found elsewhere in the evidence, as is indicated,
moreover, in the summary of the information disclosed to Mr. Charkaoui.
[14] The judge said that the CSIS was not
a police agency and was not bound by the same standards concerning the
preservation and disclosure of evidence. The appropriate standards are not
those of the criminal law but rather those of administrative law. The judge
then dismissed the request for a stay of proceedings based on the alleged
breach of Mr. Charkaoui’s right to procedural fairness guaranteed by
section 7 of the Charter.
[15] The judge then turned to the request
to exclude the new allegations and did not accept any of Mr. Charkaoui’s
arguments. He noted that paragraph 78(e) of the Act provides that the
Ministers may file additional information during the court proceedings. This
means that the judge who is called on to rule on the certificate might be in
possession of more information than the Ministers had at the time the
certificate was issued.
[16] Regarding the reliability of the
information, the judge stated that when these allegations were made in
camera, he strove to verify whether this information originated from more
than one source or whether it was corroborated by other means. The judge did
not make any conclusion concerning a diplomatic note from the Moroccan Embassy,
according to which there was no arrest warrant or legal proceeding outstanding
against Mr. Charkaoui in Morocco. He suspended his assessment of this
evidence until he had heard all of the evidence of both parties. For these
reasons, the judge dismissed the request to exclude the additional information.
STATUTORY PROVISIONS
[17] The relevant statutory provisions
are as follows:
Canadian
Security Intelligence Service Act, R.S.C. 1985, c.
C-23:
Loi sur le
service canadien du renseignement de sécurité,
L.R.C. 1985, ch. C-23:
12. The Service shall collect, by investigation or
otherwise, to the extent that it is strictly necessary, and analyze and
retain information and intelligence respecting activities that may on
reasonable grounds be suspected of constituting threats to the security of
Canada and, in relation thereto, shall report to and advise the Government of
Canada.
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12. Le Service recueille, au moyen
d’enquêtes ou autrement, dans la mesure strictement nécessaire, et analyse et
conserve les informations et renseignements sur les activités dont il existe
des motifs raisonnables de soupçonner qu’elles constituent des menaces envers
la sécurité du Canada; il en fait rapport au gouvernement du Canada et le
conseille à cet égard.
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Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c.
27:
Loi sur l’immigration et la protection
des réfugiés, L.C. 2001, ch. 27:
77. (1) The Minister and the Solicitor General of
Canada shall sign a certificate stating that a permanent resident or a
foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or
international rights, serious criminality or organized criminality and refer
it to the Federal Court—Trial Division, which shall make a determination
under section 80.
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77. (1) Le ministre et le solliciteur
général du Canada déposent à la Section de première instance de la Cour
fédérale le certificat attestant qu’un résident permanent ou qu’un étranger
est interdit de territoire pour raison de sécurité ou pour atteinte aux
droits humains ou internationaux, grande criminalité ou criminalité organisée
pour qu’il en soit disposé au titre de l’article 80.
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78. The following provisions govern the determination:
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78. Les règles suivantes s’appliquent à
l’affaire :
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(a) the judge shall
hear the matter;
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a) le juge entend l’affaire;
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(b) the judge shall
ensure the confidentiality of the information on which the certificate is
based and of any other evidence that may be provided to the judge if, in the
opinion of the judge, its disclosure would be injurious to national security
or to the safety of any person;
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b) le juge est tenu de garantir la
confidentialité des renseignements justifiant le certificat et des autres
éléments de preuve qui pourraient lui être communiqués et dont la divulgation
porterait atteinte, selon lui, à la sécurité nationale ou à la sécurité
d’autrui;
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(c) the judge shall
deal with all matters as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances
and considerations of fairness and natural justice permit;
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c) il procède, dans la mesure où les
circonstances et les considérations d’équité et de justice naturelle le
permettent, sans formalisme et selon la procédure expéditive;
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(d) the judge shall
examine the information and any other evidence in private within seven days
after the referral of the certificate for determination;
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d) il examine, dans les sept jours suivant
le dépôt du certificat et à huis clos, les renseignements et autres éléments
de preuve;
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(e) on each request
of the Minister or the Solicitor General of Canada made at any time during
the proceedings, the judge shall hear all or part of the information or
evidence in the absence of the permanent resident or the foreign national
named in the certificate and their counsel if, in the opinion of the judge,
its disclosure would be injurious to national security or to the safety of
any person;
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e) à chaque demande d’un ministre, il
examine, en l’absence du résident permanent ou de l’étranger et de son
conseil, tout ou partie des renseignements ou autres éléments de preuve dont
la divulgation porterait atteinte, selon lui, à la sécurité nationale ou à la
sécurité d’autrui;
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(f) the information
or evidence described in paragraph (e) shall be returned to the
Minister and the Solicitor General of Canada and shall not be considered by
the judge in deciding whether the certificate is reasonable if either the
matter is withdrawn or if the judge determines that the information or
evidence is not relevant or, if it is relevant, that it should be part of the
summary;
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f) ces renseignements ou éléments de
preuve doivent être remis aux ministres et ne peuvent servir de fondement à
l’affaire soit si le juge décide qu’ils ne sont pas pertinents ou, l’étant,
devraient faire partie du résumé, soit en cas de retrait de la demande;
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(g) the information
or evidence described in paragraph (e) shall not be included in
the summary but may be considered by the judge in deciding whether the
certificate is reasonable if the judge determines that the information or
evidence is relevant but that its disclosure would be injurious to national
security or to the safety of any person;
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g) si le juge décide qu’ils sont
pertinents, mais que leur divulgation porterait atteinte à la sécurité
nationale ou à celle d’autrui, ils ne peuvent faire partie du résumé, mais
peuvent servir de fondement à l’affaire;
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(h) the judge shall
provide the permanent resident or the foreign national with a summary of the
information or evidence that enables them to be reasonably informed of the
circumstances giving rise to the certificate, but that does not include anything
that in the opinion of the judge would be injurious to national security or
to the safety of any person if disclosed;
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h) le juge fournit au résident permanent
ou à l’étranger, afin de lui permettre d’être suffisamment informé des
circonstances ayant donné lieu au certificat, un résumé de la preuve ne
comportant aucun élément dont la divulgation porterait atteinte, selon lui, à
la sécurité nationale ou à la sécurité d’autrui;
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(i) the judge shall
provide the permanent resident or the foreign national with an opportunity to
be heard regarding their inadmissibility; and
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i) il donne au résident permanent ou à
l’étranger la possibilité d’être entendu sur l’interdiction de territoire le
visant;
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(j) the judge may
receive into evidence anything that, in the opinion of the judge, is
appropriate, even if it is inadmissible in a court of law, and may base the
decision on that evidence.
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j) il peut recevoir et admettre en preuve
tout élément qu’il estime utile — même inadmissible en justice — et peut
fonder sa décision sur celui-ci.
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POINTS AT ISSUE
1. Was Mr. Charkaoui’s right to procedural fairness breached
by the belated disclosure of the summary of interviews and the lack of notes or
recordings of these interviews to such a degree that he is entitled to a stay
of the inadmissibility proceedings?
2. May the designated judge receive and consider information
pertaining to the reasonableness of the certificate although such information
was not submitted to the Ministers when the certificate in question was issued?
ANALYSIS
[18] Clearly, the summary of interviews
that was belatedly disclosed to Mr. Charkaoui should have been disclosed
earlier. The CSIS, under its duty to act with utmost good faith, ought to have
disclosed it to the Ministers, without delay. This Court previously ruled on
this question in Charkaoui v. Minister of Immigration and Citizenship et al.,
2004 FCA 421, [2005] 2 F.C.R. 299:
[153] I also wish to focus on the duty of
counsel appearing on behalf of the Ministers in an ex parte proceeding under
section 78 of the Act. I agree with my colleagues that counsel is under a duty
of utmost good faith in the representations made to the judge. No relevant
information may be withheld. The principle of full and frank disclosure in ex
parte proceedings is a fundamental principle of justice that has been
recognized by the Supreme Court: Ruby v. Canada (Solicitor General),
[2002] 4 S.C.R. 3, at paragraph 27.
[154] Applying this principle to proceedings
under section 78 of the Act results in an obligation on counsel for the
Ministers to put before the designated judge not only the protected evidence
that serves to incriminate the subject of the security certificate, but also
any and all information that could serve to exculpate that person. Counsel has
a strict duty to put forward all the information in its possession, both
favourable and adverse, regardless of whether counsel believes it is relevant.
It is then up to the designated judge to decide whether or not the evidence is
material.
[19] However, the fact that the summary
should have been disclosed to him well before it was does not necessarily lead
to the result argued by Mr. Charkaoui. In my opinion, the designated judge
granted the appropriate remedy in the circumstances: a postponement to allow
Mr. Charkaoui to examine this new evidence before he testified.
[20] Furthermore, Mr. Charkaoui
alleges that the designated judge might have released him earlier than he did
had he known of his explanatory comments which, it seems, do not appear in the
summary. When one examines the following factors that the designated judge
considered in his decision to release Mr. Charkaoui, it is obvious that a
few exculpatory comments within an interview report would have had no effect
whatever on his previous decisions to maintain his detention:
68. Mr. Charkaoui has been in
preventive detention since May 21, 2003. Twenty-one months have elapsed and the
second anniversary of his arrest is not far off. During this period, his
contacts with the outside world have been extremely limited and his comings and
goings have been limited to the prison setting. If a danger was imminent, it
goes without saying it has been neutralized as a result.
69. Further, his contacts with certain
individuals before his arrest, which could have been problematic at that time
as such, should no longer be so. Certain contacts have been interrupted for
about 21 months, which should neutralize what should be neutralized.
70. Mr. Charkaoui's journeys have
ceased since his last voyage to Morocco, ending in January 2001. If the
journeys were a source of concern, they should no longer be so as he has not
travelled for over four years.
71. The presence of Mr. Charkaoui's
father and mother and of his wife and two children on the same floor in an
apartment building is a situation to be taken into account.
72. The media attention given to the
proceeding and to Mr. Charkaoui means that his conduct in public will have
to be exemplary and above suspicion.
73. The support given to him by part of the
community requires Mr. Charkaoui to act so as not to disappoint them.
74. If Parliament intended the designated
judge to assess whether there was still any danger, it also imposed an
assessment of how the danger might evolve. The imminence of danger may decline
with the passage of time.
75. That is my finding . . .
[Charkaoui (Re) (F.C.), 2005 FC 248.]
[21] Mr. Charkaoui’s allegations on this
point cannot be accepted.
[22] Concerning the destruction of the
interview notes, I am of the opinion that the criminal cases relied on by
Mr. Charkaoui have no bearing in this case. As the designated judge noted,
the Supreme Court has warned against blurring criminal law standards with those
of administrative law:
… This Court has often cautioned against the
direct application of criminal justice standards in the administrative law
area. We should not blur concepts which under our Charter are clearly
distinct…
[Blencoe v. British Columbia (Human
Rights Commission), 2000 SCC 44, [2000] 2 S.C.R. 307, at paragraph 88.]
[23] It follows that the case-law from
the criminal law on which Mr. Charkaoui relies is not relevant: R. v.
Carosella, [1997] 1 S.C.R. 80 and R. v. O’Connor, [1995] 4 S.C.R.
411.
[24] This Court has previously commented
on the difficulties confronting anyone who is the subject of a security
certificate, while drawing attention to two facts that may mitigate their
consequences, that is, the role of the designated judge and the possibility
given to the interested party to testify:
82. Finally, while there is no denying that
it is harder for the appellant to test the validity and credibility of the
information that is not disclosed to him, the fact is that he is assisted in
this task by the designated Judge who has the heavy responsibility of
maintaining a balance between the parties and accordingly respect for the
principles of fundamental justice. It should also be kept in mind that the
appellant has the right to testify and call witnesses to refute the allegations
and the evidence against him.
[Charkaoui (Re) (F.C.A.), 2004 FCA
421, [2004] 2 F.C.R. 299.]
[25] This Court has previously ruled on
the constitutional validity of the Act’s provisions covering the disclosure of
evidence; it is unnecessary to reexamine this question which is now before the
Supreme Court.
101. Parliament weighed the interests at
stake, those of the litigant and those of the community. It made a choice that
recognizes the right to collective security while prescribing a procedure in
which a judge, endowed with the necessary independence and impartiality,
decides whether the disclosure of information or evidence would be injurious to
national security or to the safety of any person. The appellant's arguments
based on factors (c),1 (d)2 and (e)3 do not,
in our opinion, have a cumulative impact that would enable us to conclude that
the process established by Parliament is constitutionally invalid.
1(c) the
decision of the designated Judge is made on the basis of secret evidence to
which the appellant does not have access
2(d) the
appellant does not obtain a summary of the information that is not disclosed to
him
3(e)
there is no means for the appellant to test the validity and credibility of
this information and thus it is difficult if not impossible for him to refute
it
[Charkaoui, supra.]
[26] It remains only to determine whether
the destruction of certain notes taints the fairness of a proceeding that is
otherwise constitutionally equitable and valid.
[27] First, I must say in passing that I
find the justification proffered by the Ministers for this CSIS policy rather
unconvincing. This policy, they say, is based on section 12 of the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service Act, which reads:
12. The Service shall collect, by investigation or
otherwise, to the extent that it is strictly necessary, and analyse and
retain information and intelligence respecting activities that may on
reasonable grounds be suspected of constituting threats to the security of
Canada and, in relation thereto, shall report to and advise the Government of
Canada.
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12. Le Service recueille, au moyen
d’enquêtes ou autrement, dans la mesure strictement nécessaire, et analyse et
conserve les informations et renseignements sur les activités dont il existe
des motifs raisonnables de soupçonner qu’elles constituent des menaces envers
la sécurité du Canada; il en fait rapport au gouvernement du Canada et le
conseille à cet égard.
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[28] According to the Ministers, the CSIS
duty to confine itself to what is strictly necessary means that once a summary
of an interview is written up, it is no longer strictly necessary to preserve
notes of the interview and they are then destroyed. This policy, we are told,
prevents the accumulation of information on individuals who are not the subject
of any suspicion.
[29] On its face, section 12 stipulates
that the test of necessity, even strict necessity, applies to the collection of
information by investigation or otherwise. If there is a necessity to preserve
the information thus collected, it is a practical and not statutory necessity.
If the information is not preserved, it cannot then be used for any useful
purpose.
[30] That being said, does the fact that
this policy was followed by the CSIS in the present case justify the granting
of a stay of the proceedings initiated against Mr. Charkaoui? In Blencoe v.
British Columbia (Human Rights Commission), 2000 SCC 44, [2000] 2 S.C.R.
307, the Supreme Court held that the right to relief because of a breach of a
section 7 Charter interest depends on the existence of evidence
establishing a prejudice resulting from that breach:
60. While it is incontrovertible that the
respondent has suffered serious prejudice in connection with the allegations of
sexual harassment against him, there must be a sufficient causal connection
between the state-caused delay and the prejudice suffered by the respondent for
s. 7 to be triggered. In Operation Dismantle Inc. v. The Queen, [1985]
1 S.C.R. 441, at p. 447, Dickson J. (as he then was) concluded that the causal
link between the actions of government and the alleged Charter violation
was too “uncertain, speculative and hypothetical to sustain a cause of action”.
[31] The Court reached the same
conclusion in respect of the appropriate relief under administrative law:
104. The respondent also argued before Lowry
J. that he was not provided with a copy of Ms. Schell’s timeliness submissions
for a two-month period and that he had not received proper disclosure. Lowry
J. did not consider the respondent prejudiced in this regard. With respect to
the alleged failure to disclose information to the respondent, this is not, in
my opinion, a case in which the unfairness is so obvious that there would be a
denial of natural justice, or in which there was an abuse of process such that
it would be inappropriate to put the respondent through hearings before the
Tribunal. I would therefore adopt the finding of Lowry J. that the delay in
this case is not such that it would necessarily result in a hearing that lacks
the essential elements of fairness. The respondent’s right to a fair hearing
has not been jeopardized. Proof of prejudice has not been demonstrated to be
of sufficient magnitude to impact on the fairness of the hearing. . .
[32] In the case at bar, Mr. Charkaoui
alleges that the timely disclosure of the interview summary could have
influenced the decision of the Ministers and the decisions of the designated
judge. He sees therein a prejudice that entitles him to the relief he claims.
The very description of this argument reveals its speculative nature.
[33] Mr. Charkaoui submits that he was
prejudiced by the destruction of the interview notes because the designated
judge was unable to verify the concordance between what he said in his
testimony and what allegedly appeared in the notes of the interviews. Even
conceding that Mr. Charkaoui could have been prejudiced by the absence of
these notes, it must also be acknowledged that he may have derived some
advantage from the fact that their absence shielded him from cross‑examination
relating to discrepancies between his testimony and his prior statements.
[34] It cannot be assumed that the
summaries are not consistent with the notes that were destroyed, or vice versa.
Insofar as the designated judge is satisfied with the reliability of the
evidence that he has, whether as a result of its origin from independent
sources or because of its apparent corroboration, the absence of interview
notes, even notes that might be relevant, does not affect the reliability of
this evidence on the record, particularly the evidence that is extrinsic to the
interviews with Mr. Charkaoui.
[35] Wherever the interview notes are
liable to throw some light on dubious evidence, their absence is a factor that
the designated judge must consider in his assessment of this evidence. It
cannot be assumed that the designated judge will not discharge his duties
pertaining to the assessment of the probative value of the evidence, as he
must.
[36] When all is said and done, Mr.
Charkaoui is unable to demonstrate a breach of his right to procedural fairness
that would entitle him to a stay of the proceedings taken against him.
[37] In the alternative, Mr. Charkaoui
submits, should his request for a stay of proceedings be dismissed, that the
designated judge erred in admitting the new allegations as evidence. As
mentioned earlier, he challenges their admissibility and probative value based
on their unreliability. Concerning the reliability of these new allegations,
the designated judge stated that he made sure that the information in question
was confirmed by other sources or corroborated by other means. No evidence has
been provided that would cast doubt on this statement. Concerning the proof
rebutting these allegations that Mr. Charkaoui says he submitted, it is up to
the designated judge to assess it, as he proposes to do, in the light of the
evidence as a whole that is submitted by both parties.
[38] Mr. Charkaoui’s principal objection
to the receipt of the new allegations and the information that supports them is
that they were not put before the Ministers at the time the certificate was
issued against him. Only the information at the disposal of the Ministers at
that time should be considered when reviewing the reasonableness of the
certificate, he says. Consequently, he asks that these allegations be dismissed.
[39] This argument is untenable. The
framework for review under the Act is not the framework applicable to judicial
review of an administrative decision as required under Part 5 of the Federal
Courts Rules.
[40] Indeed, Parliament has specifically
set out, in the Act, the procedures to be followed on the review of the
certificate (section 78). Many of these rules bear directly on the point at
issue:
78. (b) the judge shall ensure the
confidentiality of the information on which the certificate is based and of
any other evidence that may be provided to the judge if, in the opinion
of the judge, its disclosure would be injurious to national security or to
the safety of any person;
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78. b) le juge est tenu de garantir
la confidentialité des renseignements justifiant le certificat et des autres
éléments de preuve qui pourraient lui être communiqués et dont la divulgation
porterait atteinte, selon lui, à la sécurité nationale ou à la sécurité
d’autrui;
|
. . .
|
[…]
|
(d) the judge shall
examine the information and any other evidence in private within seven
days after the referral of the certificate for determination;
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d) il examine, dans les sept jours suivant
le dépôt du certificat et à huis clos, les renseignements et autres éléments
de preuve;
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(e) on each request
of the Minister or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
made at any time during the proceedings, the judge shall hear all or part of
the information or evidence in the absence of the permanent resident or the
foreign national named in the certificate and their counsel if, in the
opinion of the judge, its disclosure would be injurious to national security
or to the safety of any person;
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e) à chaque demande d’un ministre, il
examine, en l’absence du résident permanent ou de l’étranger et de son
conseil, tout ou partie des renseignements ou autres éléments de preuve dont
la divulgation porterait atteinte, selon lui, à la sécurité nationale ou à la
sécurité d’autrui;
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. . .
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[…]
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j) the judge may receive
into evidence anything that, in the opinion of the judge, is appropriate,
even if it is inadmissible in a court of law, and may base the decision on
that evidence.
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j) il peut recevoir et admettre en preuve
tout élément qu’il estime utile — même inadmissible en justice — et peut
fonder sa décision sur celui-ci.
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[Emphasis
added]
[41] According to these provisions, it
appears that the designated judge conducting the review may receive the
information on which the certificate is based and other evidence, that he shall
ensure the confidentiality of this evidence if its disclosure would be
injurious to national security, and that he may accept any evidence he
considers appropriate, even if it would be inadmissible in a court of law.
[42] These provisions demonstrate
Parliament’s intention to allow the judge to receive
any evidence that pertains to the
reasonableness of the certificate, even if some of that evidence was unknown to
the Ministers when the certificate was issued.
[43] Indeed, Mr. Charkaoui himself
invokes this right of the designated judge to receive evidence that was not
known to the Ministers when he submits to the Court his evidence in regard to
his criminal record in Morocco. There is no doubt that, if Mr. Charkaoui had
some new incontrovertible proof of the falsity of the certificate, he would not
expect that the Court would overlook it and determine the reasonableness of the
certificate as if it did not exist. Similarly, if there is new evidence showing
that the certificate is well founded, Mr. Charkaoui must expect that the judge
will consider it in determining the reasonableness of the certificate.
[44] I am therefore of the opinion that
Mr. Charkaoui’s submissions on this point must be rejected.
CONCLUSION
[45] For the reasons I have set out, Mr.
Charkaoui’s appeal must be dismissed. He has failed to convince me that his
right to procedural fairness was breached or, if there was such a breach, that
it would entitle him to a stay of the inadmissibility proceedings. The request
that the new allegations not be admitted by the designated judge must also be
dismissed, in view of the fact that the Act expressly provides this
possibility.
[46] I would dismiss the appeal with
costs.
“J.D. Denis Pelletier”
“I concur
M. Nadon J.A.”
Certified true translation
François
Brunet, LLB, BCL
LÉTOURNEAU J.A. (concurring reasons)
[47] I have had the benefit of reading
the reasons prepared by my colleague, Mr. Justice Pelletier. I agree with his
legal analysis and his application of it to the facts of this case. However, I
want to add a comment that relates the appellant’s position on the role of the
judge who is called on to determine the reasonableness of the security
certificate to the notion of procedural fairness that the appellant aptly
invokes. For the definition he proposes of the judge’s role reveals his
conception of procedural fairness.
[48] It will be recalled, as my colleague
notes, that the appellant argues that the judge who is determining the
reasonableness of the security certificate may examine only the evidence that
the Ministers cited at the time they signed the certificate.
[49] As my colleague rightly noted, this
position is not only absurd, it is contrary to the clear language of section 80
of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27, which
defines the role of the judge, and to the language of section 78 pertaining to
the admissibility of new evidence.
[50] But in the same breath — and my
colleague explicitly noted this — the appellant argues that he himself could
introduce new exculpatory evidence while, on the other hand, the Ministers
could not offer new incriminating evidence even if such evidence is recent, did
not exist at the time the certificate was signed and establishes beyond any
doubt the merits of the security certificate issued in regard to the appellant.
[51] Contrary to what the appellant seems
to think, as his position bespeaks it, procedural fairness is not a one-way
street or a street that is exclusively reserved for him.
[52] I would dispose of the appeal as my
colleague suggests.
“Gilles Létourneau”
Certified true translation
François Brunet, LLB, BCL