Uncategorized

Forgiveness

Glen Pearson reflects on Suaad Hagi Mohamud’s appearance at the foreign affairs committee yesterday.

Key people investigating the incident have determined that Ms. Mohamud did absolutely nothing wrong. It was, in fact, her government that had failed her … miserably. There is an investigation under way, yet it is happening specifically because she was innocent. Guilt on her part is not an issue here, but even with that the Government cannot bring itself to apologize. All three opposition parties offered heartfelt apologies. And some of the Government members expressed sorrow at what had happened to her.  But clearly they had been given direction to not apologize for the incident. You could see the struggle in their own eyes and I could tell easily that a couple of them wanted to offer their apologies. But they didn’t and that is just a symbol of much that is wrong at the moment.

A lone woman, a citizen of Canada, telling her story as only she could. It was drama in every sense of the word. In the end, however, the drama was eclipsed by the sobering reality that this could happen to any of us, or our children. There have been too many such incidents of late and people are having trouble believing us when we say we will protect their rights overseas. Something’s not right and the system needs to be fixed. I just don’t know how we can take the next step when a government cannot bring itself to admit its own series of blunders. Ms. Mohamud needs and deserves an apology. We in Parliament need to ask for forgiveness.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.