Musings of Babalas

No Fly List

Today is the day that the Canadian No Fly List goes into use. The government says that it is there to protect us. I have some questions for the government in respect to that.

1. If the people on No Fly List are 'threats' as the government likes to say and the government knows who they are - they have a list with their names on it - then why does the government not put these people in custody and charge them with a crime?

2. Do they only become threats when they try to travel?

3. If they detain a person wrongly, will there be any sort of compensation for these people?

These are just a few questions I have. More will likely come into my head.

The Canadian Government and Omar Khadr

Below is a letter that I have written to our Prime Minister. I don't think that I will get a response but hey - what the heck. It is just my way of ranting and getting it out of my system.

Mr. Harper

I would like to get a response from you - the prime minister of Canada - as to what is being done to free Canadian citizen Omar Khadr from his detention at Guantanamo Bay now that the US has thrown out his case. Prior to this, nothing has been done and I would like to get an explanation from the prime minister as to why exactly nothing has been done. He is a Canadian citizen who is being held illegally by the US administration. How can this be tolerated by our government? Are we not a sovereign country which abides by the rule of law and stands up for our citizens when an injustice is done to them? Apparently being in George Bush's good book is worth  much more to our prime minister then the civil liberties of a brown, Muslim Canadian citizen. If the prime minister can explain to me what exactly the Canadian government has done on Omar Khadr's behalf since his detainment 5 years ago then I would be happy to listen. But for myself and an increasing number of moderate Muslims, it seems that the Canadian government will not protect it's citizens rights if they are non-white. There are many examples of this - Maher Arar being the most noticeable. I would like the prime minister to prove me wrong. I don't expect to hear back from the prime minister as he has nothing to back up any assertions that the most that could be done, has been done, in the case of Omar Khadr. If that were truly the case, then Omar Khadr would have been back here in Canada when he was still a child and not still in custody as an adult. This not only speaks volumes to the Canadian governments attitudes to the rights of Canadian citizens of colour  but also gives an insight into the utter disregard of our government when it comes to the rights of a child which should be sacrosanct not only as Canadians but as citizens of the world. It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter. As I grew up in this country, I always thought that it was the greatest country in the world where people of all colours and nationalities could come together peacefully  and forget about any nationalistic  disagreements that may have been in effect in our original countries. With the indefinite detainment of numerous Muslims without cause since 9/11, I am beginning to have second thoughts about Canada being the greatest country in the world. I am very disappointed in our so-called leaders who continually bow down to the US without any regard for the rights of Canada as a sovereign country. I am waiting for a real leader to take our country out of the darkness that surrounds us after having followed the US into the abyss for far too long. Where are you?

Chirvan Edross