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Originally Posted by james t kirk
As I said, it depends on how you ask the question. If you phrase the question from the point of view of Canada coming to rescue of one of its citizens, or you phrase it from the point of view of Canada expending a great deal of time and energy to rescue a terrorist. It's all in how you spin the question. Surely you know that.
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Here is an example of wording:
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Conducted by Angus Reid Strategies for the Toronto Star, the survey shows 42 per cent of Canadians believe Khadr should be brought back to face "due process under Canadian law." That's up from 37 per cent of Canadians more than a year ago.
Almost an equal amount, 40 per cent, think Khadr should be left to face trial by military commission at Guantanamo Bay. About 19 per cent are unsure what the best option is.
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Canadians still split on Omar Khadr, poll shows - thestar.com
So what you have is basically an even split between Canadians who want "due process under Canadian law" vs. "left to face trial by military commission at Guantanamo Bay." And then you have a third group half the size of each who are uncertain.
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Originally Posted by james t kirk
There are something in the order of 400 Canadian Nationals being held in various jails for various crimes around the world.
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Not all cases have the same weight. I admit much of the attention on Khadr is a result of media/political profile, but then you have this situation where both the American and Canadian authorities have been found to have violated Khadr's rights. The main focus should be the fact that he remains in legal limbo. There is no guarantee that he is set to receive his due process under the law, which is what a lot of people are concerned with. Despite what you or others think about Khadr, his family, or the situation, we are still responsible, as a nation, to provide him with due process. He is technically a citizen of Canada. It is our responsibility.
If there are 399 other cases where our citizens are not provided with this due process, then they too should be on our radar. However, I'm not sure how many of them have had their rights violated by their own nationals.
So, despite how criminal Khadr may or may not be, it reflects badly on us if we do not ensure he is given his most basic rights. He's not guilty until he's had a trial that's determined as much.
---------- Post added at 02:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:28 PM ----------
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Originally Posted by james t kirk
Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not apply around the world. We have no jurisdiction over the Americans. This has nothing to to with upholding the Constitution and the Supreme Court would agree.
Omar Khadr is not worth it.
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It applies to Canadian citizens and how our government and authorities conduct themselves with those citizens, and this is where Canada failed to uphold them.
We don't have jurisdiction over Americans, but there is something called international/foreign relations. That's how other nations extradited their nationals out of the travesty of justice that was going on in Guantanamo and into their own court systems.
Omar Khadr isn't worth what? Demonstrating that we value and uphold due process of the law—especially in the wake of a ruling by our top court that states rights were violated? What are you saying? The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled
unanimously that the Canadian government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.