The Supreme Court of Canada decided not to order the Canadian Government to repatriate Omar Khadr.
There is a problem here. The court has acknowledged that the government has violated Mr. Khadr's rights time and again throughout this whole sordid business. The government - especially under Mr. Harper - has been exceptionally rigid in its refusal to act on Mr. Khadr's behalf. It is disappointing indeed that the Supreme Court is unwilling to order the government to take effective action on Mr. Khadr's behalf.
The argument that the Supreme Court has no business dictating foreign affairs policy to the government is flawed in my view. This is not merely a matter of foreign affairs policy - it is in fact a situation where the government has been an active participant in the violations of Mr. Khadr's rights under Canada's existing laws. This is where the Supreme Court has, in my view, missed the point entirely.
Further, it does not recommend any kind of remedial or compensatory actions to be taken by the government to amend the situation that it has created with its mistreatment of his file.
In the bigger picture, this is an example of the Canadian government telling its citizens that they have NO standing with the government - within or without the nation's borders. Consider this carefully the next time you find it necessary to travel.
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2 comments:
The guy's a terrorist on foreign soil. SCC was right, for the first time in decades.
The evidence in the public arena does not support the claim that Khadr is a terrorist.
If Khadr is in fact culpable - he is a Canadian, and should be held accountable under Canadian Laws regarding terrorism. If the government is so convinced of the solid case against him, then bring him home and try him in Canadian courts - where Canadians can evaluate the evidence against him.
I doubt very much that the evidence supports criminal charges against him at all - even under the extra-territorial laws related to terrorism.
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