Oakville man could have his Canadian citizenship revoked

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An Oakville man who was convicted of terrorism is fighting back against the possibility of having his citizenship revoked.

Saad Gaya is one of the “Toronto 18”, a group who were convicted of plotting a terrorist strike inside Canada. He is also one of 4 men who have been notified by the federal government that they will soon lose their citizenship. But of the 4 men, Gaya is the only one who was born and raised in Canada. For that reason, Gaya has asked a lawyer to fight for his right to remain a Canadian. Today, Sean Leathong spoke with a lawyer to find out if the government can revoke the citizenship of a natural born Canadian.

“The Charter of Rights and Freedoms prevents that from happening.” Hamilton lawyer Hussein Hamdani isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to the legality of the “Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act.”

“I’m telling you right now, this piece of legislation, with respect to Saad Gaya, Canadian born citizen will fail in court.”

Saad Gaya was born in Montreal. Raised in Oakville, he is a former student of McMaster Univeristy. The now 26 year old pleaded guilty back in 2009 to terrorism. He is currently serving 18 years behind bars for his part as a member of the “Toronto 18”,

“People who want to destroy this country, people who commit treason, people involved with, with terrorism that destroy and kill people and blow up buildings. That they’re has to be serious consequences for that and there will be” said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rob Nicholson.

Nicholson points out that the people convicted of war crimes have lost their citizenship before. Because Gaya’s parents are from Pakistan, the government says he is a dual citizen and can be deported to a country that he has never lived in.

Last week Stephen Harper announced that the government would move to strip the citizenship of Gaya and 3 others. Hussein Hamdani, who says he lost his seat on a governemnt advisory council because of his support of the federal Liberals, points out that even though it will likely fail the judicial process won’t finish before the election. “And I think the Prime Minister knows that, and doesn’t care. He just wants to tap into a certain base.”