Canadian Council of Churches v. Her Majesty the Queen and the Minister of Employment and Immigration (1992)

Download interveners' factum:

The Canadian Council of Churches, an advocacy group, initiated a Charter challenge against amendments to the federal Immigration Act concerning refugee status. They argued that most of the amended provisions violated the Charter and the Canadian Bill of Rights by threatening the personal security of refugees. The federal government attempted to dismiss the complaint by arguing that the organization had no standing to contest the legislation. Rather, an individual claiming personal or proprietary violation would be eligible to challenge the legislation.

The Supreme Court of Canada developed a test to allow for public interest litigation against federal legislation that required demonstration of the seriousness of the invalidity of the legislation; a genuine interest in the legislation; and no reasonable means by which the issue could otherwise be brought before the court. The Federal Court of Appeal subsequently developed a narrower test.

LEAF and the Canadian Disability Rights Council were granted leave to intervene, urging the Court to expand access to public-interest litigation in a manner consistent with section 15's formal and substantive equality guarantees.

The Court ruled that public-interest standing could be granted when it could be demonstrated that an individual's safety would be compromised by advancing litigation. The Court further clarified that a refugee claimant could have standing to initiate a constitutional challenge to secure rights under the Charter and the disadvantages faced by refugees did not preclude their fair access to the Court.

Supporting documents
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Supreme Court of Canada Decision (1992)