Two British Columbians serving time for drug offences in the U.S. have filed a lawsuit against Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day for blocking their transfers to Canadian prisons.
In Federal Court documents filed earlier this month, B.C. lawyer John Conroy says Day's decision in the separate cases of Steve Czinege and Winnie Lam is "incorrect in law and unreasonable in fact."
The documents allege Day has no lawful jurisdiction to deny, refuse or postpone Czinege and Lam's entry into Canada and that neither constitutes a threat to the country's security.
In August, Federal Court Justice Michael Kelen ruled Day could not use national security to deny the transfer of a child molester from a U.S. prison to a Canadian facility.
Kelensays the phrase "threat to the security of Canada" has traditionally been limited in other legislation to threats of terrorism and warfare against Canada.
Czinege was convicted in January 2007 after he was caught trying to smuggle 110 kilograms of cocaine from Washington to Canada inside a truck's fuel tanks.
Lam is serving a seven-year jail sentence after she was caught with 1,000 ecstasy pills at the Seattle airport.
With a report from The Canadian Press
