GOVERNMENT TO APPEAL COURT DECISION ON KHADR

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 000649 C O R R E C T E D C O P Y //// CORRECTED TEXT ///// SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2019 TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL CU CA SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT TO APPEAL COURT DECISION ON KHADR REPATRIATION REF: A. OTTAWA 629 ¶B. OTTAWA 313 Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) On August 24, Christian Rousseau, Director of Operations for Defence and International Security Policy at the Privy Council Office, informed PolMinCouns that the Canadian government would appeal to the Supreme Court the August 14 decision (ref a) of the Federal Court of Appeals upholding a lower court order (ref b) for the government to seek the repatriation from Guantanamo Bay of Canadian citizen Omar Khadr. He predicted that the government would file the appeal "very soon, probably within the next few days," and would focus in particular on the government's right to conduct foreign policy independent of interference by the courts, a key issue highlighted in the dissenting opinion by one appellate judge. Rousseau added that the PCO did not want President Obama and Prime Minister Harper to have to discuss this issue during their September 16 meeting in Washington. Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / HOPPER