Cardozo v. Canada

T-1645-92

Noël J.

20/1/93

Plaintiff Minority Advocacy and Rights Council non-profit corporation organized to monitor, assist and sponsor selective litigation including cases involving Charter -- Plaintiff Cardozo Canadian citizen of Indo-Pakistani origin and Executive Director of Canadian Ethnocultural Council, umbrella organization of 35 national ethnocultural organizations -- Plaintiffs learning of sale in Winnipeg and Calgary of imported pins allegedly of racist nature -- M.N.R. refusing to stop importation of pins -- Plaintiffs alleging pins exposing them to hate, dislike, enmity and contempt -- Cardozo alleging importation and distribution of pins and buttons injured self-esteem and designed to intimidate him in work as defender of minority rights -- Action seeking declarations importation of pins prohibited under Customs Tariff Act; New Hate Propaganda Guidelines invalid; Act, s. 114 invalid under Charter; damages -- Defendants dispute plaintiffs' public interest standing -- Test for public interest standing set out in Canadian Council of Churches v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration), [1992] 1 S.C.R. 236 -- Defendant conceding serious question as to validity of legislation and plaintiffs having genuine interest in validity of legislation -- Submitting other reasonable and effective ways to bring issue raised by statement of claim before courts -- Arguing as direct cause of harm not action of Department in allowing importation of pins, but action of importer and distributor, more reasonable, direct and effective to commence action against importers and distributors -- Plaintiffs indicating issue not impropriety of sale and/or distribution of pins, but legality of government action in construing Act so as to allow importation -- Motion to strike statement of claim dismissed -- No other reasonable and equally effective ways to bring issue before Court -- Cardozo having direct personal interest in litigation -- As availability of financial remedy under Charter, s. 24 unclear, claim for damages not struck at this stage -- Customs Tariff Act, R.S.C., 1985 (3rd Supp.), c. 41, s. 114, Schedule VII, Code 9956 -- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, being Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Canada Act 1982, 1982, c. 11 (U.K.) [R.S.C., 1985, Appendix II, No. 44], ss. 15, 24 -- Federal Court Rules, C.R.C., c. 663, R. 419.