Federal Court of Canada - US Not Safe for Refugees

This one seemed to escape our English-language media. It came from Le Devoir and to my attention through the American website, Truthout.

A justice of the Federal Court of Canada has ruled the United States is not a "safe country" for refugees. The upshot of the ruling, if it stands up on appeal, is a huge black eye for Washington and would force Canada to rewrite its "safe third country agreement" with the US. The agreement provides that a refugee may seek refuge in whichever of our two countries he first reaches. If he lands in the US, he's the Americans, if he reaches Canada first, he's ours.

Refugee defense groups have criticized the deal as leaving Latin Americans to the mercy of the US which too often has cozy relationships with some very nasty people in their homelands.

Federal Court judge Michael Phelan, in a 124-page decision, has ruled that the US should not be considered a safe country because it does not respect the Convention on Torture, regularly returning refugees to homelands where they face precisely that fate.

"Although the Maher Arar case is not at issue here," the judge wrote, "the Court takes note of the Arar Report's conclusions. Even if the United States did not participate in the acts, it indicated to the commission that it respected Article Three of the Convention against Torture. The facts surrounding the Arar case furnish us with cause to seriously doubt that assertion."

It will be fascinating to see if Ottawa or Washington takes this ruling on appeal. That might simply invite further unwelcome controversy. It would certainly see the hearing room packed with reporters from Canada's English media.