A Delicate Balance: Re Charkaoui and the Constitutional Dimensions of Disclosure

[Introduction]: "In the wake of 9/11, Canada quickly adopted a wide range of new criminal law provisions designed to more effectively prevent and punish transnational terrorist activity.1 Despite the availability of these measures, counter-terrorism policy has since been pursued primarily through immigration law. This is in some ways unsurprising. While transnational terrorist activities span jurisdictions, the jurisdictions of law-enforcement agencies are generally domestically bounded, limiting their independent ability to launch effective investigations and prosecutions. Immigration law helps coordinate Canadian, foreign, and international counter-terrorism strategies by facilitating the movement of alleged terrorists to jurisdictions where they may be prosecuted more effectively or more conveniently. From the government’s standpoint, an added advantage is that evidentiary burdens and standards of proof are far lower in deportation proceedings than in criminal proceedings, making it easier to reduce the threats that some non-citizens may pose to Canadian national security."