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A vast majority? I don't think so. Canadians are split on whether Khadr should be brought here to face justice. The opposition doesn't even need to make this an election issue; there are enough Canadians who think this is getting ridiculous.
And despite what actions he took overseas, Khadr's still a Canadian citizen. You seem bent on keeping the perspective merely on him, but as I said this is not just about him; it's about how we conduct ourselves legally and morally. Those forty some odd percent of Canadians who want to see due process of the law aren't necessarily "weeping for Khadr." Many of them (myself included) are concerned about how our government upholds that which is important to us: basic human rights and the due process of the law.
Khadr is in a legal limbo. That's bullshit and Canada needs to do something about it because we are responsible to ensure he gets what is due him with regard to his rights and the due process of the law. It's that simple.
This isn't just about him. It's about us as well. Are we upholding our values or not? It's bad enough that we have allegations of torture or the accessory to torture in other cases; this is just yet another issue that we need to address. This is not only because of some kind of sympathy for Khadr. It has more to do with whether we abide by our own laws.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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