The appellant sought extradition of two Canadian citizens to the United States for transnational heroin offences, although the respondents' personal acts occurred in Canada and could have been prosecuted domestically.
The Court held that extradition prima facie infringes s. 6(1) of the Charter, but that the infringement is justified under s. 1 because extradition serves pressing objectives of international crime suppression and bringing fugitives to justice.
Applying the Oakes framework flexibly, the majority concluded extradition was rationally connected to those objectives and impaired the right as little as reasonably possible in the context of transnational crime.
The appeals were allowed, the Court of Appeal judgments were reversed, and the extradition committals were restored.
