Sylvester: Was Jason Kenney’s public outing of 30 wanted war criminals legitimate and/or effective?

By:
Shauna Sylvester
/
8 August, 2011
By: Shauna Sylvester
Fellow at the Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and the Director of Canada's World

I was a little stunned that the same government who showed so little interest in the International Criminal Court, who struck out humanitarian from DFAIT documents referencing international humanitarian law and who decided to cancel the mandatory long-census form to address privacy concerns would feel compelled to publicly release the names of 30 suspected war criminals.

Jason Kenney did not provide information on the exact nature of the war crimes or the crimes against humanity the men in Canada are alleged to have perpetrated.  When CBC News asked for specific information on the allegations, a CBSA spokeswoman said the agency is “unable to divulge specific details in accordance with privacy laws.”

So what message about Canadian values is Minister Kenney trying to project with this action?  Is vigilantism the new order of the day?  Where does the rule of law fit into this scenario? And how can the Canadian government determine if their labels of “war criminals” are accurate?

Before you click away, we’d like to ask you for a favour … 

 

Journalism in Canada has suffered a devastating decline over the last two decades. Dozens of newspapers and outlets have shuttered. Remaining newsrooms are smaller. Nowhere is this erosion more acute than in the coverage of foreign policy and international news. It’s expensive, and Canadians, oceans away from most international upheavals, pay the outside world comparatively little attention.

At Open Canada, we believe this must change. If anything, the pandemic has taught us we can’t afford to ignore the changing world. What’s more, we believe, most Canadians don’t want to. Many of us, after all, come from somewhere else and have connections that reach around the world.

Our mission is to build a conversation that involves everyone — not just politicians, academics and policy makers. We need your help to do so. Your support helps us find stories and pay writers to tell them. It helps us grow that conversation. It helps us encourage more Canadians to play an active role in shaping our country’s place in the world.

Become a Supporter