Canadian courts need only a mere possibility of terrorism to uphold a certificate

Evidence

In contrast to non-residents, permanent residents are entitled to a review of the detention order after the first forty-eight hours and subsequently at six-month intervals until a final decision is made by a federal court judge concerning the security certificate. For ‘foreign nationals’ and permanent residents alike, however, there is no appeal with respect to the judge’s decision on the security certificate and the test for the finding of the reasonableness of the certificate is a low one, the ministers needing only to satisfy the court that there is a possibility that the person is a terrorist or a member of a terrorist organization. — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 74

Categorization

• QUESTION: The ‘low test of reasonable possibility’ is a remarkable inversion of normal criminal evidentiary standards — worth comparing against the US material support standard and the UK control order regime.
• DEFINE: Clarifies the ‘reasonable possibility’ evidentiary test that authorizes indefinite detention.