Omar Khadr, the Canadian ‘child of Guantanamo Bay’, once seemed a magnificent catch in the war on terrorism. But his detention has been problematic for both the U.S. and Canada. There is international criticism against a military trial for a minor. Canada can help by requesting Khadr’s extradition – but it does not want him back.
Canada has been a popular destination for Mexicans fleeing their country’s bloody drugs war. But now, the Canadian government has imposed a new visa requirement to stop the influx. “Harper has said, we don’t want any more Mexicans.”
Thousands of Canadians demanded an immediate withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan this weekend. After more than 40 casualties, there’s a growing sense in Canada that the operation in Kandahar is not a peace mission. “We fear that we have become involved in a war we cannot get out of.”
Toronto’s Khadr clan is known as the self-described “Canadian Al-Qaeda family”. Patriarch Ahmed Said Khadr relocated his family from Toronto to Pakistan and Afghanistan to pursue jihad. In Canada, grandmother Elsamnah is trying to help her grandchildren as they return one by one.
American soldiers who refuse to serve in Iraq have sought asylum in Canada. In Toronto, the ‘war resisters’ are welcomed with open arms. The city has a proud history as a haven for conscientious objectors going back to the Vietnam War. “Canadians are ready to support us.”
Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Diversity is celebrated in the Canadian metropolis. “You live and work with so many nationalities here that to be Canadian is to be global.”
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