Immigration officials are seeking to revoke the citizenship of a Saskatchewan doctor who drugged and sexually assaulted two female patients.
They contend that John Schneeberger lied to a citizenship judge in 1993 when asked whether he was the subject of a criminal investigation.
If successful, the move could result in Dr. Schneeberger's being deported to his native Zambia.
A statement of claim filed in Federal Court in Edmonton by Immigration Canada says dr. Schneeberger unlawfully obtained Canadian citizenship in 1993 by not disclosing the allegations brought against him a year before.
Dr. Schneeberger, who was practising in Kipling, Sask., was convicted of the sex assaults in 1999 and is serving a six-year sentence in British Columbia's Ferndale Institution.
During the criminal investigation and before his citizenship hearing, he surgically inserted a tube of a patient's blood into his own arm to keep investigators from obtaining an accurate DNA test.
The results, which incorrectly showed that he was not the attacker, came back about a week before his citizenship ceremony.
In further documents filed with the Federal Court last month, Immigration officials argue that, had Dr. Schneeberger not faked the blood sample, he would have immediately faced criminal charges.
Officials also say he lied to Citizenship Judge Carrie Froehlich when being sworn in by denying that he had ever been the subject of a criminal investigation.
It wasn't until 2000, when Judge Froehlich was watching a TV news documentary about Dr. Schneeberger's case that she learned of his criminal conviction and realized that he had lied to her, she wrote in an affidavit filed with the court.
She noted that during his swearing-in, Dr. Schneeberger paused after being asked if he had been the subject of a criminal investigation.
"The defendant asked me what would happen if a person lied. … I told the defendant that they could be stripped of their citizenship and deported from Canada."
In the statement of defence, Dr. Schneeberger's lawyer, Christopher Elgin, says his client never concealed any circumstantial material from Judge Froehlich nor was he ever asked about an investigation.
Mr. Elgin declined further comment on the case.
A statement filed in court by Canada Immigration says Dr. Schneeberger knowingly concealed material facts from the judge and the RCMP.
"There were no innocent misrepresentations in this case," the statement says. "The defendant's denials are both not credible and self-serving."
A decision in the case has been reserved to an unspecified later date.
Citizenship revocation and deportation proceedings are separate processes, Immigration spokeswoman Ann Lawler said.
If the ruling determines that citizenship was obtained unlawfully, Immigration Minister Denis Coderre would need to petition a special committee of cabinet to revoke Dr. Schneeberger's citizenship, meaning he would revert to being a permanent resident or landed immigrant.
Ms. Lawler said permanent residents can be deported if convicted of serious offences. She would not speculate on how long the process could take.
Last week, Dr. Schneeberger was denied parole for the second time. He is eligible for statutory release in November.
His ex-wife, Lisa Dillman, who has led the fight to have his citizenship revoked, said a decision cannot come soon enough.
"I'd like to see this man out of our lives and the only way to do that is to physically remove him," she said from her home in Red Deer, Alta.
Ms. Dillman fought a court order requiring the couple's two young daughters to visit Dr. Schneeberger while he was an inmate at a prison in Bowden, Alta.
The only attempted visit was called off when the girls, then 5 and 6, became upset after driving through a crowd outside the prison protesting against the court order.
Dr. Schneeberger eventually waived his right to parental visits but has since changed his mind and is again demanding to see his daughters.
Bob Mills, a Canadian Alliance MP for Red Deer, who has been a staunch supporter of Ms. Dillman's crusade, also wants Dr. Schneeberger deported as soon as possible.