The Toronto lawyer and activist has spent nearly 50 years in courtrooms, trying to win mostly human rights cases.
He wants one more victory before he takes his last breath.
Roach, who moved to Canada in 1955 from Trinidad and Tobago, wants to become a Canadian citizen. In the 1970s, he fulfilled the requirements to do just that.
But one thing got in the way of receiving his citizenship certificate.
He refuses to pledge allegiance to the Queen, something he has to do in an oath all citizenship candidates older than 14 must take to become Canadian.
“In my belief, the Queen represents or is the most important representation of inequality and racism. I cannot take an oath to a symbol of racism,” said Roach, referring to England’s colonial past. He believes that anybody, regardless of their family lineage, should be able to serve as head of state.
The 78-year-old has one last chance to receive his citizenship without taking an oath he says violates his Charter rights to freedom of conscience and expression.
On June 18, the Ontario Superior Court gave Roach and three others the green light to continue to argue that the oath to the Queen is unconstitutional.
The four plaintiffs, half who aren’t Canadian and half who say they took the citizenship oath “under duress,” must each file individual applications to the court by Sept. 21.
The decision was a victory for the Roach camp, who hope to argue the case in the next six to eight months.
“I’d really like to see us win this case while (Roach is) around to appreciate it,” said Peter Rosenthal, a lawyer arguing the case who has worked with Roach for 40 years.
A victory would mean the oath in its current form could be ditched, he added.
“If we succeed, then the federal government would have to rewrite an oath that would not include such a requirement.”
Roach, one of the founders of Toronto’s Caribana festival, moved to Canada to attend university.
When he started studying at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, he got his first glimpse at a television. The images of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala. inspired his own fight against the monarchy.
Rosenthal said people living here should pay close attention to Roach’s argument and question Canada’s relationship with the monarchy.
“There’s the local interest in the (Diamond) Jubilee but … I think there’s less interest in the monarchy than there was a generation ago.
“It’s time to re-evaluate the whole thing.”
But Robert Finch, chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada, said the monarchy is gaining popularity in Canada.
He credits recent Diamond Jubilee celebrations and Prince William’s high-profile wedding for the popularity boost.
Associating the Queen with racism and slavery is irrational, Finch said. He thinks most prospective Canadians are fine with saying the oath.
“I really think that (Roach) has misgauged Canadians’ attitudes toward the monarchy.”
In 1994, the Federal Court of Appeal turned down Roach’s application for a trial, where he would have argued for an exemption from taking the oath. The Supreme Court refused to let him appeal that verdict.
The matter is worth arguing again because application of the Charter has evolved since 1994, Rosenthal said.
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Karissa Donkin
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