The Canadian Extradition System and its Reform: Balancing Between Rights and Freedoms and National Security

Abstract

It is often advocated that the fundamental rights of Canadian citizens enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms must not be sacrificed at the altar of national security. However, upon analyzing the Canadian extradition system, a dual standard is revealed. In one case, Dr. Hassan Diab, an Ottawa-based professor, was alleged by the French authorities in 2007 to have been involved in a 1980 synagogue bombing in Paris. After his trial within Canada (2010–14), he was finally extradited to France in 2014, jailed, eventually released, and returned to Canada in February 2018. Media reports document that Canadian Department of Justice lawyers worked assiduously to “prove” his guilt. By way of contrast, in 2011, the US’s request to extradite Abdullah Khadr was rejected by the Supreme Court, citing his previous 14-month-long ill-treatment. These two cases illustrate an existing tension between coercive “force of law” and the “rule of law" and the Canadian government’s uncritical stand in protecting its citizens when it comes to extradition treaty obligations. This article argues that the current Canadian extradition system established through the 1999 Act is questionable because it presupposes a person’s “guilt” over “innocence” by placing the burden of proof on the accused. It also raises the question of the veracity of a large number of extradition cases in the past. The article further contends that current provisions in the Canadian Extradition Act in general and the Canada-France agreement in particular fall short of protecting a citizen’s life and reputation; thus, they need reform. My suffering and that of my family was prolonged by senior officials at the Department of Justice. I trusted the government's promise that what happened to me would never happen to anyone else. It's a one-sided report. Its purpose is not to provide accountability. Its purpose is to absolve the Department of Justice of any accountability, and to shield senior officials at the department of any accountability. Dr. Hassan Diab, Press Conference in Ottawa, on the event of release of the independent external review of his case, July 26, 2019.