Voluntarily Relinquished Entitlements

"[It is] wholly disproportionate to any legitimate government objective."
"Labels placed on the individual through the revocation process, such as 'terrorist' or 'traitor', may enhance the risk of mistreatment or persecution."
Misbahuddin Ahmed, convicted of terrorism offences

The Crown is seeking a harsher sentence for convicted terrorist Misbahuddin Ahmed. Mike Carroccetto / Ottawa Citizen

The man who, with fellow jihadists, had plotted to carry out violent attacks in Canada in response to Canada's involvement with NATO in actions in the Middle East against Islamist  jihadists, from behind bars has launched a constitutional challenge in Federal Court, protesting the government's decision that his citizenship as a dual national would be revoked under a new law.

The 31-year-old protests that Citizenship and Immigration's decision to strip him of his citizenship represents cruel and unusual punishment. As such his Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees are being breached, he contends righteously. He felt himself free to conspire to carry out violent acts, yet calls upon his citizenship rights under the Constitution.

A year ago a jury found the former Ottawa Hospital diagnostic-imaging technician guilty of conspiracy to facilitate terrorism and facilitating terrorism; he was cleared of a third charge, that of possessing an explosive device. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison, rather than the 20 years that government lawyers had demanded.

Originally from Pakistan, he became a Canadian citizen in 2004, having lived in Canada as a permanent resident for six years. He is the father of three young children. He and two others had planned to build improvised bombs. They were subjects of an intensive investigation by the RCMP, labelled "Project Samosa".

Before C-24 became law, permitting deportation and revocation of citizenship from those who engaged in terrorist acts or actions geared to harm Canada, loss of citizenship was used to deprive accused war criminals or those who obtain citizenship through fraud, of their citizenship. Canadian citizenship is not a right, but a privilege, one lost if it is degraded deliberately.

C-24 extends provisions, to include treason or high treason, espionage, terrorism offences and anyone deciding to go abroad to fight alongside any declared enemy forces of the country. In other words, the man has earned the distinction awarded him of citizenship revocation. He was not accused of treason, but his actions certainly were treasonous, so to argue for clemency on the basis that he could become stateless is fairly baseless.

He chose his destiny. On serving his sentence out in Canada, deportation to his country of origin is the next earned step in this man's chequered future.