Monday, November 24, 2008

Dear HarperCon$:

So ... a Canadian citizen lies in legal limbo. Held not to face charges in the recognized courts of the country holding him, but rather to be subjected to a questionable, if not outright illegal, tribunal system prepared to accept evidence from such reliable sources as torture.

Never mind that he was a youth when captured. Nor is it significant to the Con$ that it was his father who dragged him over there. Nope. None of that seems to matter here. Neither does the fact that there is essentially no appeal beyond the tribunal itself.

Your stated position on this?

"Mr. Khadr faces very serious charges," Cannon said Thursday from Lima, Peru, where he was attending APEC ministerial meetings.

"He is being held and it's our government's intention to follow and respect the process that's in place and, of course, to respect American sovereignty on this issue."


Of course, throwing Canadians onto the trash heap has been pretty much standard fare for Conservative foreign policy since day one. Khadr is but one of a growing list of Canadians rotting in foreign prisons because the Harper government will not lift a finger to intervene.

Why should they pay any attention to George Bush's little kangaroo courts designed explicitly to get him one conviction in Guano Bay before he leaves office in January? Perhaps because it would be the right thing to do. If Khadr actually should face charges, repatriate him and charge him here - where at least the legal system has a modest degree of transparency and accountability.

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