However, we understand that this is a unique exception to the confidentiality of these data banks. Given the objective, we believe that it is warranted. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association opposes the proposal to suspend or deny passports for persistently defaulting debtors. The Association believes that the right to a passport is a fundamental aspect of citizenship. Since the ability to leave Canada to go to a foreign country depends largely on a Canadian citizen's ability to produce a passport either to receive a visa to travel to the foreign country or to be allowed entry at the border, we think that citizens' entitlement to a passport is implicit in this Charter right.
Citizens have a fundamental right to mobility for good reason.
Our ability to move about freely without restrictions is a foundation of a free and democratic society. The state should not be able to limit the freedom of citizens to move without exceptional reasons. Such a reason might include a case in which a person's mobility may likely threaten state security. Though we understand the importance of family maintenance and indeed have sympathy for families owed maintenance, in principle, this object is not sufficiently pressing to override the importance of mobility. Furthermore, the Association believes that the denial of the passport contemplated in Bill C-41 may constitute a violation of the mobility rights in the Charter .