Seminar: Human Smuggling Before the Supreme Court of Canada

SPECIAL SEMINAR CO-HOSTED BY BORDER CRIMINOLOGIES, THE REFUGEE STUDIES CENTRE, AND THE OXFORD HUMAN RIGHTS HUB:

Catherine Dauvergne (Professor of Law, University of British Columbia, Canada)

Human Smuggling Before the Supreme Court of Canada

This talk will explain the constitutional challenge to Canada’s human smuggling laws that was argued before the Supreme Court of Canada in February 2015.  The case asks whether Canada’s criminalization of human smuggling is unconstitutional because it can penalize individuals and groups who assist refugees in seeking international protection in Canada. Catherine Dauvergne provided expert evidence at the trial level in this case, and has watched it closely as a member of the Canada Council for Refugees Legal Affairs Committee.