Canadian Judge Blasts U.S. Terror Policies

[*jr]

Hail to Canada, hail to honorable Justice Michael Phelan!

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Source: ABC News Blotter

Because of the U.S. government's policies on torture and refugees, Canada can no longer turn away refugees coming from the United States, a Canadian judge has ruled.

According to Canadian news accounts, Justice Michael Phelan's ruling struck down an agreement that once barred thousands of refugees seeking asylum in Canada. The judge said the United States does not protect refugees fleeing political persecution and torture, which international conventions require.

Instead, it adheres to rigid policies which may result in mistreatment, including forcing victims of abuse to return to the countries in which they were mistreated, he said.

As a result, the United States can no longer be considered a safe place for refugees, Phelan ruled. His ruling nullifies an existing U.S.-Canada agreement saying that if a refugee is turned away from one country, he or she cannot seek refuge in the other. The agreement was intended to reduce so-called "asylum shopping," in which immigrants attempt to obtain refugee status from multiple countries.

more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/200 ... dian-ju...

[Megatron]

This is interesting, because a friend of mine told me about reading this in the Metro newspaper (Toronto), but was unable to find reference to it anywhere else. It was her theory (and mine, too) that the government didn't want it getting out, and therefore tried to keep the lid on it.

[*jr]

[quote="Megatron"]This is interesting, because a friend of mine told me about reading this in the Metro newspaper (Toronto), but was unable to find reference to it anywhere else. It was her theory (and mine, too) that the government didn't want it getting out, and therefore tried to keep the lid on it.[/quote]

Yeah it makes sense that the Harper government didn't want the story to get out....they don't want to be seen opposite to the U.S. immigration policies, hence labeled as terrorist safe haven by the Rightwingers in Washington.