Friday, January 29, 2010

Khadr thoughts

This is a tough case -- Omar Khadr is a Canadian and our government should have sought his return as a matter of course. But our government (yes including Liberal and Conservative administrations) did not.

The refusal to seek Khadr's return is a political decision (the wrong one I think) but it is not a casual determination -- clearly the PMO was deeply involved.

And so should the Courts second guess a decision of an elected government?

Yes, I know the issue is cloaked in Charter rights but at base the issue is 'should a Court order the government to make requests of a foreign state regarding that state's treatment of a Canadian?'.

Who decides communication with foreign powers -- judges or elected officials? Who is better placed to determine foreign policy matters?

We'll see what the Supreme Court does but my instinct is that this is not something for the Courts.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
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www.jmortonmusings.blogspot.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

perhaps not, but if we can bring a wrongly convicted woman home from Mexico how can we not bring child soldier,tortured with the help of government and CLEARLY,CLEARLY facing spurious, contrived evidence?
Maybe you're right; a dismissing flick of the wrist, a snap of the finger is all the law Muslims can get from Harper...

foottothefire

Anonymous said...

Morton;
Although you declare this to be a tough case, the official Liberal party line has been clear that the Harper gov't is to blame.It is a slam dunk as far as they are concerned.
-David

wilson said...

The Liberal party line, in opposition,
is a an about face from the Liberal party line, when in government.