Ep 113 Citizen Vavilov

There is a lot going on in the world right now. But Stephanie and Craig wanted to catch up first with a development just before the holidays: The Supreme Court’s decision in Vavilov. This case is famous (in the narrow circles Craig lives in) for what it has done to “administrative law”. It is also famous for concerning the children of two Russian “illegals” — that is, Russian sleeper agents who fraudulently assumed Canadian citizenship — and the question of whether the children themselves are Canadian. In this podcast, we walk through some of the technical legal issues and debate the broader question of the role of the court in adjudicating cases the implicate national security. For those following along, it may be useful to have the text of s.3(2) of the Citizenship Act:

(2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply [that is, no citizenship by virtue of birth in Canada] to a person if, at the time of his birth, neither of his parents was a citizen or lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence and either of his parents was

  • (a) a diplomatic or consular officer or other representative or employee in Canada of a foreign government;

  • (b) an employee in the service of a person referred to in paragraph (a); or

  • (c) an officer or employee in Canada of a specialized agency of the United Nations or an officer or employee in Canada of any other international organization to whom there are granted, by or under any Act of Parliament, diplomatic privileges and immunities certified by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to be equivalent to those granted to a person or persons referred to in paragraph (a).

Craig Forcese