‘The steps taken to date were found not to remedy the breach’

The federal court rules on a review of the government’s response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the treatment of Omar Khadr.

Omar Khadr sought judicial review of Canada’s response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s declaration in Canada (Prime Minister) v. Khadr (2010) that Canada had breached his Charter rights.  Canada responded by deciding that it would continue to refuse to request his repatriation from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and by requesting, by way of diplomatic note, that the United States not use any of the information Canada had supplied it in its prosecution of Mr. Khadr.

The Court concluded that Canada’s decisions were amenable to judicial review, even though they involved the executive’s exercise of a royal prerogative, because they affected the rights and legitimate expectations of Mr. Khadr.  The breach of his rights remained ongoing and the Court concluded that he had a legitimate expectation, following the Supreme Court of Canada’s declaration, that Canada would take steps to remedy its breach.  The steps taken to date were found not to remedy the breach.

The full ruling is here.