The Conservative government’s indifference to human rights abuses experienced by Canadians stranded abroad is on display in the Supreme Court today, as they continue their vendetta against former child solider and Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, Liberal MPs said today.
“Canadians shouldn’t have to rely on the court to force the government to safeguard our human rights,” said Irwin Cotler, Liberal Special Counsel for Human Rights and International Justice. “Instead of protecting all Canadians, our government is arguing for an executive privilege to continue to allow human rights abuses to go unchecked.”
“Omar Khadr was held without charge until 2005, and the Conservative government’s refusal to repatriate him from Guantanamo Bay left him as the last remaining citizen of a western country to remain detained there,” said Liberal Consular Affairs Critic Dan McTeague. “If President Obama’s efforts to close down Guantanamo haven’t convinced the Conservatives to deal with Mr. Khadr in Canada, we can only hope that the Supreme Court will be more successful.”
“The government has a responsibility to make every reasonable effort to protect the human rights of its citizens,” said Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae. “They can’t pick and choose which Canadians they want to intervene in favour of when their human rights have been violated.”
