Original author: Omar El Akkad
Source: The Globe and Mail
URL: [link]
Date: September 12, 2006


OTTAWA -- Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act was a hastily conceived, unnecessary reaction to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the lawyer for Canadian terrorism suspect Mohammad Momin Khawaja said yesterday in the first major court challenge of the law.

Lawrence Greenspon asked the Ontario Superior Court hearing to strike down the sections of the act under which his client was charged because their wording was vague, far-reaching and likely to infringe on fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression and association.

The act, he told Justice Douglas Rutherford, is "broad, vague definition piled on broad, vague definition."Mr. Khawaja, 27, became the first person charged under Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act when he was accused of plotting to blow up civilians in London, England. His alleged co-conspirators are currently being tried in England. Mr. Khawaja's trial is not expected to begin until January.

Mr. Greenspon's challenge is separate from the charges levelled against his client. If successful, Mr. Greenspan's challenge could have a profound impact on Canadian terrorism laws. Eighteen men and youths are awaiting trial in Toronto on charges under the act related to an alleged plot to blow up Canadian landmarks.

Mr. Greenspon argued that the entire act -- "a mockery of parliamentary legislation" -- was a knee-jerk reaction to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he said, politicians were eager to show their support for the fight against terrorism. In the process, he said, they created an unnecessary emergency law masquerading as ordinary legislation.

"Although what we have is not called emergency legislation," he said, "it is just that."

He said that the Anti-Terrorism Act, if not struck down, is destined to join the ranks of similar ill-conceived acts, such as the 1885 head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants, and camps where Italian and Canadian immigrants were interned during the Second World War.

In its factum filed with the court, the federal Crown said "Canada's anti-terrorism legislation does not represent institutionalized "emergency" legislation for oblique purposes but rather a refinement of the criminal law to meet a serious social evil that is constant and pervasive in our own history as well as in the rest of the world."

The act is not aimed at any ethnic or religious group, the Crown said.

Mr. Greenspon is expected to conclude his arguments in court today, after which the Crown will present its case.

The hearing will likely conclude this week, although it is unclear whether Mr. Justice Rutherford will deliver a decision immediately afterward.

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