Lawyer allowed to challenge citizenship oath
Last Updated: Friday, May 18, 2007 | 10:26 AM ET
CBC News
A Toronto civil rights lawyer has won a key battle in his bid to take the Canadian oath of citizenship — without pledging allegiance to the Queen.
In a ruling handed down Thursday, a judge in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice said Charles Roach's case is "neither frivolous nor vexatious."
"There is plausible argument that this requirement [to swear the oath] violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," wrote Judge Edward Belobaba.
Lawyers for the federal government had asked Belobaba to dismiss the case, saying it was argued in federal court in the 1990s.
Federal court judges ruled the oath didn't violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Roach was denied the chance to appeal the verdict before the Supreme Court.
Roach and an unspecified number of people then took the case to Ontario Superior Court as a class-action lawsuit. They want the oath repealed and $5,000 in damages for everyone who has refused to take the oath.
"I'm not suggesting that many of these arguments will necessarily succeed, when the application is heard on the merits, only there is a 'chance' that it may succeed," Belobaba wrote.
Under Canadian law, all new citizens over the age of 14 must repeat the following oath: "I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen."
Roach moved to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, but has never taken the citizenship oath. He remains a permanent resident, meaning he can't travel on a Canadian passport, run for office or vote.
A founding member of the Black Action Defence Committee, Roach has in the past represented the Black Panthers, asylum-seekers and people fighting extradition. He also helped launch Toronto's Caribana festival.
