OATH TO THE QUEEN CHALLENGED

Anohter monumental waste of time and of taxpayers' dollars....I am an immgrant too! Give me a break!

Citizenship oath's 'allegiance to Her Majesty' in question

Joseph Brean, National Post

ublished: Tuesday, February 19, 2008

TORONTO -- The Queen's place in Canada is going to trial, now that the government has failed to stop a Charter challenge of the citizenship oath's reference to the monarchy.
Three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal today denied the federal Attorney-General's request to dismiss the case by overturning a lower court ruling that allowed it to proceed.
Brought by Charles Roach, a black Toronto lawyer who objects to the monarchy's past connection to slavery, the case has rallied the diverse forces of Canadian republicanism, from Irish and Indian nationalism to casual distaste for monarchies.
The effect of today's ruling is that the class action, in which damages of $5000 are being sought for people who have refused to swear the oath or swore it under duress, can now proceed in the Ontario Superior Court.
As the test case, Mr. Roach, 74, a permanent resident of Canada who was born a British subject in Trinidad and immigrated to Canada more than 50 years ago, argues that the requirement to swear an oath to the Queen violates the Charter's freedom of conscience provision.
With exemptions only for the disabled, new Canadian citizens must swear an oath to "be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors..."
Citizenship then permits people to vote, serve on juries, get a passport, run for office, leave Canada with the right to return and pass citizenship to their children born elsewhere.
Kristina Dragaitis, a lawyer for the Attorney-General, argued before three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal that Mr. Roach is now "forum shopping" after losing a similar case in the Federal Court of Appeal in 1994. Regardless, she said, federal court is where citizenship disputes are settled, not provinicial court.
She argued that a lower court judge, who last year denied the government's request to dismiss the case as an abuse of process, was wrong to conclude that "this is not an immigration matter... No one is caught up in federal immigration procedures; no one is appealing a denial of citizenship, or complaining about delays in the processing of citizenship papers."
Without even hearing from Mr. Roach's lawyer and daughter Kikelola Roach, the judges upheld that earlier ruling, and dismissed the government's appeal, calling the case a "straightforward, Charter-based constitutional challenge of a federal law," and not a dispute over the conduct of federal officials.
As Associate Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor put it, "There's nothing, quote, citizenshippy about it."
To overturn this ruling, the government would now have to go to the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Roach was in Trinidad yesterday, and not available for comment.