august 1, 2018 prime minister house of commons · 2018. 8. 1. · august 1, 2018 the right...

August1,2018TheRightHonourableJustinTrudeauPrimeMinisterHouseofCommonsOttawa,ONK1A0G2DearPrimeMinisterTrudeau,IamwritingyouonbehalfoftheInternationalCivilLibertiesMonitoringGroupinfollow-uptoourletterofMay7,2018,callingonyourgovernmenttoinitiateapublic,independentinquiryintothecaseofDr.HassanDiabandoverarchingconcernswiththefailingsofCanada’sextraditionlaws.Weweredismayedtolearnthatyourgovernmenthasdecidedtopursuethecourseofanexternalreview,ratherthanafull,publicinquiry.Whilewedonotdoubttheintegrityoftheappointedreviewer,MurraySegal,itiscleartousthatthetermsofreferenceforthereviewdonotincludethepowersorscopenecessarytoinvestigateandaddressthecomplexanddeep-rootedissuesatplayinDr.Diab’scase.Wewouldurgeyoutoinsteadproceedwithapublic,independentinquiry.Suchadecisionwouldnotonlyresolvemanyoftheproblemsofpowerandscope,butwouldalsosendaclearmessagetoDr.Diab,hisfamilyandthepublicthatyourgovernmentiscommittedtoensuringthatanordeallikeDr.Diab’sisneverallowedtore-occur.Anythinglesswillfallshortoftheclearneedforanswers,repercussionsandreformsinthewakeofDr.Diab’sdecade-longordeal.Ourconcernswiththecurrentreviewprocessinclude:

• ThereviewwillnotcoverFrance’sactionsintheleaduptoDr.Diab’scommittalforextradition.France’sactionsbeforeandduringDr.Diab’sextraditionhearingsareofgraveconcern.Itwillbeimpossibletofullyunderstand,rectifyandpreventfutureoccurrencesiftheseactionsareomittedfrominvestigation.

International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group 338 Somerset Street West, Ottawa, ON, K2P 0J9

(613) 241-5298 www.iclmg.ca

• ThereviewdoesnotincludeanexaminationoftheshortcomingsinCanada’sExtraditionAct.ThisstepisfundamentaltoensuringjusticeandafairprocessinthefutureandtopreventsimilarinjusticesbeingperpetratedagainstotherCanadians.

• Thereviewer’saccesstodocumentsandevidenceinCanada’spossessionissubjecttounduelimitations,includingconstraintsfromvague“internationalrelationsobligations.”WeareconcernedthiscouldmeanobtainingpermissionfromFranceforthereleaseofcertaindocuments,aclearconflict.Thevaguenessalsoraisesconcerns,moregenerally,overwhichdocumentsandinformationwillbeavailabletothereviewer.

• Thereviewprocesslackstheopportunitytocross-examinewitnessesunderoath,hinderingthereviewer’swork.

• Thetermsofreferencedonotrequiretheresultofthereviewtobemadepublic.ItisofutmostimportancethatthefullfindingsofthisinquirybemadepublicinordertoidentifyurgentchangesneededtoCanada’sextraditionlaw,andstepsneededtoimplementthem.ApublicaccountingisalsovitaltoensuringthatjusticeisachievedforDr.Diab.

Finally,wewishtoexpressoursupportforDr.Diab’sprincipleddecisiontoboycottthecurrentreview.Weagreewithhisassessmentthatthecurrentexternalreviewamountstodamagecontrol,andwillnotbeabletofullyaddresstherootcausesofDr.Diab’scase.WhilewhatDr.Diabhasfacedoverthepastdecadecannotbeundone,heandthepublicdeservefullanswersastohowitwasallowedtooccur,andactiontoensurethatitcannotoccuragain.Onlyapublicinquirywillbeabletoachievethis.Werequestthatyouactaccordingly,andwithoutdelay.Sincerely,

TimMcSorleyNationalCoordinatorInternationalCivilLibertiesMonitoringGroupcc: TheHonourableChrystiaFreeland,MinisterofForeignAffairsCanada

TheHonourableJodyWilson-Raybould,MinisterofJusticeandAttorneyGeneralofCanada