There are some things one should never do. One should never cheat on your taxes, one should never lie to one's physician or lawyer. One should not be stubbornly dumbassed about something that the majority of the country and its courts agrees on. The Canadian government has been, of late, doing some unnecessarily dumb things. My concern today is the appeal by the government of a ruling by a federal court in Canada that says they have to appeal to the US government to repatriate a Canadian citizen who is being held at Guantanamo Bay on questionable charges in a reasonable time-frame.
As a Canadian, I have some rights. I am allowed to come back to the country whenever I want. I can expect to use my travel documents (my passport) to enter many other countries. On behalf of Her Majesty, the Minister of Foreign Affairs requests that I be afforded all assistance and protection as seen necessary to travel through other countries. I can even expect, when there is no Canadian mission, to appeal to a British mission for help! That I suspect is because their Queen happens to be our Queen as well... and we are after all, members of the Commonwealth.
I also expect my government to do everything in its power to ensure my welfare. If I die outside the country, I expect them to do something for my family, like repatriate my body home. I expect my government to defend my interests if I am in trouble (regardless of where I am). Why then is a legitimate government trying so hard not to help a Canadian citizen?
The Americans haven't tried Omar Khadr. The Americans most likely want him off their hands because of regime change in America (without any tanks or bombs) and some recognition of the cruelties done and the flimsiness of facts. He's our citizen. The Americans are our friends. If he had done something wrong (as alleged), lets bring him home and try him in a proper court with all safeguards and proper jurisprudence. He was a 15 year old kid taken out to a horrible place by lunatic parents on a religiously charged quest to change the world. But he was a 15 year old kid. I don't think he decided to go to Afghanistan from the confines of Toronto. I don't think he believes in the nonsense his parents did. And if there is evidence to the contrary, let us try him keeping in mind that it was a warzone and people were shooting at him and... he got shot in the back, becoming a paralysed from the waist down... and blind in one eye. Not that what happened to him has any bearing on what he is alleged to have done. But... justice is a two way street, lets not forget. Someone shot a kid in the back as well.
Why the government has decided that they can appeal this decision is beyond my comprehension. What court is going to say that we should leave a citizen stranded in a kangaroo prison? We shall see. My expectation is that the government will lose its appeal. I hope the judge throws whatever he has at his disposal at the government. I also hope that the public sees this nonsense for what it is... a tactic to delay making a decision and a waste of time and money. And just plain cruelty. I have not been a fan of some of these decisions made by the Harper government and this stands out as an example of their lack of care for their own citizenry.
They've also got one Canadian citizen living in a Canadian embassy in Khartoum because they are unwilling to issue him a passport to travel. I don't get it. If he is part of some terrorist organisation as is claimed by CSIS and the government, repatriate him in handcuffs and try him in our courts with the evidence you have. Don't stick him in an embassy in another country in limbo. That makes no sense. And again, its cruel. As a Canadian citizen he has the right to return to his country. If you're unwilling to repatriate him yourself, give him his documents so he can travel and when he enters, pick him up if you believe that he is a criminal and stick him in jail and file a case against him. Its just plain stupid to leave a man in limbo. We are not a super power and whatever secretive knowledge you have, I trust a federal court judge to keep to himself or herself while you try him in a semi-secret court if necessary, if you think national secrets will be divulged.
I don't buy into the claims made by some in society that because these two people are not white enough, the Canadian government doesn't care. Canada is a remarkable tolerant country and I don't for a second believe that our government is racist. For one thing, a fair bit of our government is not white. I feel proud to say I am Canadian... in fact, I am a hyphenated Canadian, I have two countries I can call home and am very proud of. I just don't understand why they would do things that fly in the face of common sense in these situations. So please fix this Mr. Prime Minister. For there is more than just two peoples lives at stake here.
As a Canadian, I have some rights. I am allowed to come back to the country whenever I want. I can expect to use my travel documents (my passport) to enter many other countries. On behalf of Her Majesty, the Minister of Foreign Affairs requests that I be afforded all assistance and protection as seen necessary to travel through other countries. I can even expect, when there is no Canadian mission, to appeal to a British mission for help! That I suspect is because their Queen happens to be our Queen as well... and we are after all, members of the Commonwealth.
I also expect my government to do everything in its power to ensure my welfare. If I die outside the country, I expect them to do something for my family, like repatriate my body home. I expect my government to defend my interests if I am in trouble (regardless of where I am). Why then is a legitimate government trying so hard not to help a Canadian citizen?
The Americans haven't tried Omar Khadr. The Americans most likely want him off their hands because of regime change in America (without any tanks or bombs) and some recognition of the cruelties done and the flimsiness of facts. He's our citizen. The Americans are our friends. If he had done something wrong (as alleged), lets bring him home and try him in a proper court with all safeguards and proper jurisprudence. He was a 15 year old kid taken out to a horrible place by lunatic parents on a religiously charged quest to change the world. But he was a 15 year old kid. I don't think he decided to go to Afghanistan from the confines of Toronto. I don't think he believes in the nonsense his parents did. And if there is evidence to the contrary, let us try him keeping in mind that it was a warzone and people were shooting at him and... he got shot in the back, becoming a paralysed from the waist down... and blind in one eye. Not that what happened to him has any bearing on what he is alleged to have done. But... justice is a two way street, lets not forget. Someone shot a kid in the back as well.
Why the government has decided that they can appeal this decision is beyond my comprehension. What court is going to say that we should leave a citizen stranded in a kangaroo prison? We shall see. My expectation is that the government will lose its appeal. I hope the judge throws whatever he has at his disposal at the government. I also hope that the public sees this nonsense for what it is... a tactic to delay making a decision and a waste of time and money. And just plain cruelty. I have not been a fan of some of these decisions made by the Harper government and this stands out as an example of their lack of care for their own citizenry.
They've also got one Canadian citizen living in a Canadian embassy in Khartoum because they are unwilling to issue him a passport to travel. I don't get it. If he is part of some terrorist organisation as is claimed by CSIS and the government, repatriate him in handcuffs and try him in our courts with the evidence you have. Don't stick him in an embassy in another country in limbo. That makes no sense. And again, its cruel. As a Canadian citizen he has the right to return to his country. If you're unwilling to repatriate him yourself, give him his documents so he can travel and when he enters, pick him up if you believe that he is a criminal and stick him in jail and file a case against him. Its just plain stupid to leave a man in limbo. We are not a super power and whatever secretive knowledge you have, I trust a federal court judge to keep to himself or herself while you try him in a semi-secret court if necessary, if you think national secrets will be divulged.
I don't buy into the claims made by some in society that because these two people are not white enough, the Canadian government doesn't care. Canada is a remarkable tolerant country and I don't for a second believe that our government is racist. For one thing, a fair bit of our government is not white. I feel proud to say I am Canadian... in fact, I am a hyphenated Canadian, I have two countries I can call home and am very proud of. I just don't understand why they would do things that fly in the face of common sense in these situations. So please fix this Mr. Prime Minister. For there is more than just two peoples lives at stake here.
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