Excerptcize

Archive for February, 2010

Omar Khadr being interviewd by CSIS in 2003. Photo by: The Canadian Press

Friday was an extremely busy day and things did not all go Stephen Harper’s way. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, held in part an appeal brought forth by the Prime Minister in regards to the ongoing detainment by the US of Canadian citizen Omar Khadr. Previously, a Federal Court had agreed with Mr. Khadr’s petition to the court that his rights guaranteed under Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated, and ordered the government to begin to seek his repatriation. This ruling was upheld at the Federal Court of Appeals, leading to the appeal by the Government which was ruled upon on Friday. The Court held that the rights accorded to Mr. Khadr under the Charter have been violated but that directly ordering the government to seek his return to Canada was not appropriate, at this time. In sum, the Court decided to “grant Mr. Khadr a declaration that his Charter rights have been infringed, while
leaving the government a measure of discretion in deciding how best to respond.”

So, while the government does not have to immediately seek the return of Mr. Khadr, they are expected to respond in some manner to the Courts ruling that his Charter rights were and indeed continue to be violated. The Globe and Mail described the Courts ruling as a challenge to the Harper government saying that “a legal fist lies beneath [the ruling's] velvet glove.” In it’s ruling, the Court cited both the consistency of “the separation of powers and the well-grounded reluctance of courts to intervene in matters of foreign relations” but also noted that “courts are empowered to make orders ensuring that the government’s foreign affairs prerogative is exercised in accordance with the constitution.” All of this is to say that the matter of the ongoing detention of Omar Khadr is not over. I previously suggested that perhaps President Obama was looking for Prime Minister Harper to help him out in one small matter by seeking the return of Mr. Khadr. And why not? All other western nations, concerned with what we now know were entirely credible allegations of abuse and torture at Guantanamo sought, and received the return of any of their citizens being held in the black site. There is no reason that Canada should not, even at this late time, follow suit.

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