Statutes

The following Canadian statutes authorize enforcement action against alleged war criminals or alleged perpetrators of crimes against humanity and genocide:

Citizenship Act

  • Provides for the revocation of citizenship of people who have obtained citizenship by fraud or misrepresentation;
  • Deems that people who gained admission to Canada by fraud or misrepresentation, and subsequently obtained Canadian citizenship, are subject to having their citizenship revoked; and,
  • Provides that citizenship shall not be granted where the person is under investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Minister of Justice or the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act

  • Provides for the prosecution of any individual present in Canada for any offence stated in the Act regardless of where the offence occurred;
  • Organizes offences of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and breach of responsibility by military commanders and civilian superiors;
  • Creates new offences to protect the administration of justice at the International Criminal Court (ICC), including the safety of judges and witnesses; and,
  • Recognizes the need to provide restitution to victims and provides a mechanism to do so for victims of offences (regulations to implement these provisions have not yet been passed).

Extradition Act

  • Allows Canada to extradite to other states upon request and also allows for the surrender to international criminal tribunals if so requested by these tribunals;
  • Permits the use of video and audio link technology to provide testimony from witnesses located in Canada or abroad; and
  • Establishes clear procedures for the extradition or surrender process.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

  • Provides for the examination abroad of all people seeking to enter Canada as a visitor or for permanent residence;
  • Provides specific grounds of inadmissibility for people involved in war crimes or crimes against humanity and outlines procedures for their reporting, admissibility hearing and removal;
  • Provides for the exclusion from the refugee determination process of people involved in war crimes or crimes against humanity;
  • Provides for the designation of regimes considered to have engaged in gross human rights violations, war crimes or crimes against humanity; and,
  • Limits appeal rights of people involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity.