The Federal government in May 2015 introduced several new pieces of legislation relating to antiterrorism in Canada. One of the Acts is the Removal of Serious Foreign Criminals Act, which proposes to amend several federal Acts in an effort to streamline the removal of foreign nationals who commit serious crimes in Canada, allow for the mandatory transfer of foreign criminals back to their country of origin and render foreign criminals ineligible for a record of suspension. Among its contents is a provision for making all foreign nationals, and some permanent residents sentenced to more than six months for a serious crime in Canada, ineligible for a criminal record suspension, as well as a provision allowing Canada to transfer a criminal without their consent where provided for under the terms of a future treaty. This Act is currently in First Reading in the House of Commons.
Also in May 2015, the Prevention of Terrorist Travel Act was introduced alongside amendments to the
Canadian Passport Order (“CPO”). These amendments are part of Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No.
1, the legislation implementing Budget 2015, and are thus currently in Second Reading at the House of
Commons. The amendments to the CPO will grant Federal Court judges the ability to cancel, refuse or
revoke passports as a preventative measure to stop an individual from committing a terrorism offence, as
defined by the Criminal Code, or for the national security of Canada or a foreign country or state. The
revocation of a passport could last for up to 10 years. The Prevention of Terrorist Travel Act pertains to
judicial proceedings involving a CPO decision. Among other provisions, the Act stipulates that during a
proceeding, on the Minister’s request, a judge must hear submissions on evidence in the absence of the
public and the applicant and their counsel, and the judge must ensure that the applicant is provided with
only a summary of the evidence if in the judge’s opinion it would be injurious to national security or endanger the safety of any person if disclosed.
Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 also implements changes to section 55(3) of the Proceeds of Crime
(Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, as alluded to in Budget 2015. These changes will require that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, if it has reasonable grounds to suspect that designated information would be relevant to investigating or prosecuting a money laundering offence or a terrorist activity financing offence, disclose the information to an agency or body that administers the securities legislation of a province.
The legislation described above reflects the Federal government’s increased focus on addressing terrorist
activity. These measures are generally reflective of the approach towards terrorist activity as found in
legislation such as Bill C-51, as discussed in Anti-Terrorism and Charity Law Bulletin No. 39, The Impact
of Bill C-51 on Charities and Not for Profits. Also like Bill C-51, the legislation described above may raise concerns for Canadian charities and not for profits, specifically those operating in conflict zones or otherwise becoming the subject of investigation by law enforcement and other agencies. Close attention to the development of this legislation will be important so that every organization may conduct a close pro-active review of charitable activities and due diligence procedures to ensure limitation of risk for the organization itself, as well as its directors, officers, employees, and members.