Khadr

Khadr may be the most important decision in Canadian judicial history -- it may set the boundaries for where the government can act and where the judges can intervene. The Supreme Court was right to grant leave.


OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court of Canada, in agreeing Friday to consider the repatriation of Omar Khadr, will face the thorny question of what legal duty, if any, the government has to protect Canadian citizens who are detained abroad.

Without giving reasons, a three-judge panel granted the Harper government's request to appeal a court order to seek Mr. Khadr's return from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a remedy for violating his charter rights by participating in his mistreatment at the U.S. military compound.

The Supreme Court stayed the repatriation order and agreed to expedite its appeal, scheduling a hearing for Nov. 13.

If the high court had refused to consider the appeal, the Conservative government would have had no choice but to comply with the April repatriation order from the Federal Court, which was upheld last month in the Federal Court of Appeal.

Government lawyers, in their application seeking leave to appeal in the Supreme Court, assert that there is "an emerging trend" in the Federal Court to issue orders that interfere with the government's discretion to conduct its foreign relations as it sees fit.

"Clarification of the extent to which the charter may reverse foreign policy is important to assist Canadian officials in carrying out Canada's international commitments and legal obligations," says the application.
James Morton
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