CABA Continues Legal Fight for Expat Voting Rights before the Supreme Court of Canada

On October 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada granted CABA’s motion to intervene in Gillian Frank et al. v. Attorney General of Canada.  The case involves a constitutional challenge by two Canadian citizens living in the United States of provisions in the Canada Elections Act that deny the right to vote to Canadian citizens who have resided outside of Canada for more than five years.  As an intervening party in the appeal, CABA will have standing before the Court to advance its position that the challenged provisions violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by establishing a second-class of Canadian citizenship based on the incorrect assumption that long-term expatriates have, in the words of the lower court, “severed their connections to Canada in the pursuit of their livelihoods.”  CABA’s written submission are due on December 9, 2016.  The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral argument in the case in February of next year.

Additional case information can be accessed on the Supreme Court of Canada docket: http://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/info/dock-regi-eng.aspx?cas=36645