Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : BS Bar & Grill - Open 24 Hours A Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gamesmistress who wrote (1623)	10/31/2002 8:24:09 PM
From: Condor	Respond to of 6901

By The Associated Press 10/31/2002 19:18:07 EST New Citizenship Bill Calls for Oath to Canada, Gives Courts More Say OTTAWA (AP) - People deemed to be security threats, human rights violators or organized criminals could have their Canadian citizenship revoked on hearsay evidence and face deportation under a proposed new citizenship act tabled Thursday. The new legislation, which for the first time demands that new citizens swear an oath of allegiance to Canada, marks the fourth attempt by the Liberals since 1993 to overhaul the Citizenship Act. It last received a facelift 25 years ago. The latest proposal clearly reflects domestic and international efforts to tighten security since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. "The draft citizenship act, like the new immigration legislation, will be a breath of fresh air in the system that dates back to 1977," said Immigration Minister Denis Coderre. The new act would remove government-appointed citizenship judges from the decision-making process, handing most of the 160,000 annual applications to bureaucrats. Ninety per cent of those applications are approved. It would make it faster and easier to get citizenship for the 1,800 children adopted abroad each year, make Canadian residency requirements more flexible, and place some constraints on automatic citizenship for children born and raised overseas but whose parents hold Canadian citizenship. ___ Supreme Court Strikes Down Law That Bars Federal Prisoners From Voting OTTAWA (AP) - The Supreme Court of Canada has struck down the law that barred penitentiary inmates from voting in federal elections, saying it violates the fundamental rights of prisoners. By a 5-4 margin, the high court concluded Thursday that the federal government had failed to demonstrate any overriding social objective that could justify such an infringement of the Charter of Rights. Advocates for prisoners' rights hailed the ruling, while the Canadian Alliance called it "disgraceful" and said it cheapens the electoral process. The ruling doesn't guarantee that federal prisoners will ever actually get to vote because Parliament could pass a new law before the next election - although it's not clear how much room the government has to maneuver. The sharp division in the court was grounded in differing judicial visions, with the majority giving priority to individual rights while the minority counseled deference to Parliament. At issue was a section of the Canada Elections Act, passed in 1993, that denied prisoners serving terms of two years or more the right to vote in federal elections. In effect, that meant inmates of federal prisons. People serving lighter sentences for less serious offenses generally do their time in provincial jails. The challenge to the law was launched by Richard Sauve, a one-time motorcycle gang member from Ontario who was sentenced to life in prison for murder. He has since won parole, earned a university degree and has continued to campaign for voting rights for those who remain in prison. Several aboriginal inmates from Stony Mountain penitentiary in Manitoba joined the case along the way. ___ Ottawa Reintroduces Security Bill, Drops Call for Military Zones OTTAWA (AP) - The federal government has introduced a revised security bill, dropping a controversial proposal that would have allowed it to create emergency military zones and softening some other provisions. But the revised legislation would still give cabinet ministers authority to suspend environmental, health and other laws in emergencies, and to issue so-called "interim orders" without cabinet consent to counter threats to public security. The sweeping scope of the emergency powers are still a contentious issue, even within the Liberal caucus. Critics say it gives individual ministers too much power. The military security zones were construed by some as a threat to civil liberties, particularly if a minister declared areas where the military was deployed - like international summits - off limits to the public. The original Bill C-55 was introduced April 29 but died on the order paper when Parliament prorogued in September.