Government lawyers are set to stress that point in the Federal Court of Appeal today as they seek to overturn a January ruling by Federal Court Justice Henry Brown.
The government says in written arguments filed in the Court of Appeal that Brown mistakenly conflated the recognized Charter right of citizens to enter Canada with a right to return — effectively creating a new right for citizens to be brought home by the Canadian government. The judge's ruling has largely been put on hold while the appeal plays out. However, Ottawa must still get the process started by initiating contact with the Kurdish forces who are detaining the men in a region reclaimed from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
"They have not had access to the necessities of life and have been subjected to degrading, cruel and unusual treatment during their nightmarish tenure in Syrian prisons," the filing says. "Jack Letts told his family and the Canadian government that he was subjected to torture and contemplated ending his own life.
Family members of the men, as well as several women and children, argued in the Federal Court proceedings that Global Affairs Canada must arrange for their return, saying that refusing to do so violates the Charter.
Don't bring them to Canada
The Trudeau government has demonstrated, the Charter is nothing more than a piece of paper to wipe your ass with cdnpoli TrudeauDestroyingCanada SelloutSingh ForeignInterference
We don't want them
The charter is just a sheet of paper government proved that the last 3 years