Day faces lawsuit from B.C. drug dealers jailed in U.S.
Last Updated: Monday, October 20, 2008 | 3:02 PM PT
The Canadian Press
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is facing a lawsuit for blocking two convicts from transferring to Canadian prisons. (Clement Allard /Canadian Press) Two British Columbians serving time for drug offences in the U.S. have filed a lawsuit against Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day for blocking their transfers to Canadian prisons.
In Federal Court documents filed earlier this month, B.C. lawyer John Conroy said Day's decisions in the separate cases of Steve Czinege and Winnie Lam were "incorrect in law and unreasonable in fact."
The documents allege Day has no lawful jurisdiction to deny, refuse or postpone Czinege and Lam's entry into Canada and that neither constitutes a threat to the country's security.
"I've never seen that [security threat] label placed on anybody before this minister," Conroy said. "It's usually used in the context of terrorism and things like that. He's using it as a threat."
Conroy said Day's logic makes little sense.
"If you thought there was somebody out there who was a threat to the security of Canada, where would you want them? At some other country able to be deported back? Or in one of our prisons?"
In late August, Federal Court Justice Michael Kelen criticized Day for citing national security as a reason to stop the transfer of convicted child molester Arend Getkate from a U.S. prison to a Canadian facility.
Kelen said Day's use of the term national security risk in that case was "wholly unreasonable" and quashed the decision, which the government did not appeal.
But on Sept 8, Czinege was denied his transfer on the same security grounds. Three days later, so was Lam.
"My hope and expectation would be that the minister would now, as a result of Getkate, make decisions that are consistent with that decision," Conroy said.
Czinege and Lam also claim their constitutional rights have been violated and there should be an immediate order for their return to Canada. Both are seeking to have their legal fees reimbursed.
Czinege was convicted in January 2007 after he was caught trying to smuggle 110 kilograms of cocaine from Washington to Canada inside a truck's fuel tanks.
Lam is serving a seven-year jail sentence after she was caught with 1,000 ecstasy pills at the Seattle airport.
