Justice Committee on Feb. 9th, 2009

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

That would more properly be directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. McGuinty.

[The Chair, Conservative, Ed Fast]

Is that a point of order, Mr. Storseth? What's the question?

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

How is the question relevant to the estimates?

[The Chair, Conservative, Ed Fast]

I'm going to allow the question. It's the first appearance the minister has before this committee, and I think we want to give some latitude to ask questions as long as we try to focus on the estimates.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do want to focus on some expenditures that, I believe, were incurred by the department in the Omar Khadr question.

Mr. Minister, have you commissioned or received legal opinions on Omar Khadr at the expense of the Department of Justice?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Would you repeat that, Mr. McGuinty?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Have you received or commissioned legal opinions on the status of Mr. Khadr as a Canadian citizen in Guantanamo Bay?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

I would never confirm whatever legal opinions I've requested or indeed any legal opinions I've given, Mr. McGuinty, with respect to any other department of the Government of Canada. We treat that information with solicitor-client privilege. As I indicated I believe to Mr. Comartin, we do provide legal advice to a wide range of government departments. Whatever information we give, or the extent to which we give advice, we treat it with solicitor-client privilege. You can probably understand that.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Let me ask you something then, Mr. Minister, if I might.

You are Canada's top lawyer.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Thank you very much.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

You're a federal Queen's Counsel. You had a distinguished practice, I understand, before you--

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Keep going, because this is music to my ears. Please go ahead.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Let me ask you your view as a lawyer and officer of the court with respect to the Omar Khadr situation.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Any advice I give as a lawyer, Mr. McGuinty--

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

But I'm not asking for advice.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

I don't give any advice as a lawyer outside of my responsibilities as Attorney General and justice minister.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

But Mr. Minister, I'm not asking for advice. I'm asking for your view as a Queen's Counsel.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

You asked me how I felt about it in my role as a lawyer. Generally when somebody asks you that question, they're asking you your legal opinion on a particular issue or action.

I think the system works well, quite frankly, in Canada. I was reading recently about Sir John A. Macdonald when he put both roles of Minister of Justice and Attorney General together. We've continued with that tradition that the justice minister and Attorney General will give that kind of legal advice to various government departments on various issues.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

So Mr. Khadr is the only Canadian citizen in Guantanamo, I take it. I take it you likely have received—

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

That's your comment. I'm not making any comment on it, Mr. McGuinty.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

How could you not know that, Minister?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Again, you already directed these questions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and you've got your answer from him, and he speaks on behalf of the Government of Canada.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Let me put it to you this way, Minister. Are you putting provisions in place now, as the Minister of Justice, to deal with Mr. Khadr when he is ultimately repatriated, if he is?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

What I'm doing, Mr. McGuinty, is moving forward on my justice legislation, and again, any hypothetical questions are hypothetical and I will leave them as such.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

So the treatment of a Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr, is not in the purview of the Minister of Justice. Is that what you're telling us?