Canadian Courts don’t buy word of government
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Flashback: Court orders Ottawa to let Abdelrazik return to Canada | Harkat lawyers accuse officials of conducting illegal raid | CSIS forced to ‘reveal’ info on secret source in Harkat case | Judge orders recall of CSIS witnesses in Harkat case for potential perjury, obstruction
Thomas Walkom, Toronto Star
June 6, 2009
Canadian judges once deferred to government on questions of national security. No more. Federal Court Justice Russel Zinn’s withering critique of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government for refusing to let a Canadian citizen back into Canada is just the latest in a series of judicial decisions indicating that, on matters of terrorism, the courts no longer believe everything Ottawa says.
Zinn’s decision orders the government to issue Abousfian Abdelrazik a passport and, within 30 days, ensure his return from Sudan. That’s where the alleged terror supporter has been stranded for six years – at first in jail, latterly in the Canadian embassy.
The judge describes as “nonsensical” the government’s reasons for refusing to let Abdelrazik return and says there is no compelling evidence of his being a terrorist.