Human smuggling before the Supreme Court of Canada
Catherine Dauvergne (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Wednesday, 06 May 2015, 1pm to 2pm
Senior Common Room, Faculty of Law, St Cross Building, St Cross Road, OX1 3UL
Hosted by Border Criminologies, the Refugee Studies Centre and the Oxford Human Rights Hub
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 criminalisation of human smuggling is unconstitutional because it can penalise 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.
About the speaker
Professor Catherine Dauvergne works in the area of immigration and refugee law in Canada and around the world. Her research is grounded in a belief that how we define and police the boundaries of our societies determines the terrain of our political engagments and says much about our national identity. Border laws are a space of unabashed discrimination, where aspirations of nationhood are writ large. Professor Dauvergne is currently completing a research project investigating the failure of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect non-citizens.