SCC Case Information
Summary
33289
Prime Minister of Canada, et al. v. Omar Ahmed Khadr
(Federal Court) (Civil) (By Leave)
Keywords
Constitutional Law.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch) for information purposes only.
Constitutional law - Charter of Rights - Right to life, liberty and security of person - Fundamental justice - Remedy - Crown prerogative in matters of foreign relations - Interviews conducted in Guantanamo Bay by Canadian officials who knew that Canadian child had been subjected to sleep deprivation techniques - Refusal of the Canadian Government to repatriate its national - Whether the lower courts could find that s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been breached and that the breach was not justified under s. 1 - Whether the lower courts could find that the Government had a duty to protect its national - Whether it was open to the lower courts to order the Government to request the repatriation of its national.
Mr. Khadr, a Canadian citizen, was taken prisoner in Afghanistan when he was 15 years old and has been detained by U.S. Forces since 2002 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he is currently facing murder and other terrorism-related charges. During his detention, Mr. Khadr was given no special status as a minor. He was not allowed to communicate with anyone outside Guantanamo Bay until November 2004, when he met with legal counsel for the first time. The Canadian Government has asked, through diplomatic channels, for consular access and other assurances, but it is its policy not to request his repatriation until the conclusion of the prosecution. In 2003, Canadian officials questioned Mr. Khadr, still a minor, at Guantanamo Bay, with respect to matters connected to the charges he is now facing, and shared the product of these interviews with U.S. authorities. In 2006, after formal charges were laid against him, Mr. Khadr sought disclosure in Canada of, notably, the records of the interviews conducted at Guantanamo Bay. The Supreme Court of Canada ordered the disclosure. After the information was disclosed, it became clear that when the officials interviewed Mr. Khadr, they were aware that he had been subjected to a form of sleep-deprivation, known as the “frequent flyer program”, to make him more amenable and willing to talk.
Mr. Khadr asked the Canadian Government to repatriate him, but to no avail. He sought judicial review of the policy and decision of the Canadian Government not to seek his repatriation.
