Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-40, the Extradition Act.
This so-called modernization of our extradition laws is an attempt to make it tougher for accused criminals to use Canada as a refuge from justice systems of other countries and international court.
Our extradition laws have been around for approximately 120 years but we have been powerless to send fugitives to such adjudicators as the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague and the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda.
For a few years now we have provided the services of one of our judges, Madam Justice Louise Arbour of the Ontario Court of Appeal, as chief prosecutor. We have never been able to fulfil our obligations to help bring suspected war criminals to justice. I suppose we should not be surprised, as Canada's record is totally abysmal when it comes to war crimes prosecutions. It is an indication of this government's misplaced priorities when this place debated Bill C-42 in 1996 in order to change our laws to permit Madam Justice Arbour to legally work for war crimes tribunals yet it is only now that we are attempting to ensure that Canada can legally work toward the aims of those same tribunals.
It is most fortunate that we have Madam Justice Arbour over there. It appears she may have had something to do with rectifying this government's failure to have proper procedures in place. It was she who commented: “There was a terrible void in Canadian legislation. I think having a structure in place will avoid what otherwise would have been a terribly embarrassing situation for a country like Canada”.
Only the government and its spin doctors have the nerve to promote and support international bodies such as war crimes tribunals but remain powerless to send fugitives before them.
We were restricted to extradition only to other countries, only when bilateral agreements were signed and only for specified and limited offences.
To be fair, other countries found themselves in a similar position but they enacted laws long before this. Once again this government is slow and out of sync with the rest of the world.
Even federal officials believe there are more than three hundred modern day war criminals in Canada. They believe we are a refuge for death squad members, torturers and officials from corrupt and murderous regimes from countries such as Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Rwanda and El Salvador.
We have usually been quick off the mark to provide humanitarian aid to most of these strife ridden parts of the world, and that is certainly a good and admirable effort. But to permit Canada to become a haven for war criminals is a sad indictment against each and every one of us.
There is a provision in the bill which is welcome news. It is my understanding that where an extradition order is issued for a person who has filed a refugee claim, that person will be declared ineligible for refugee status and the extradition will proceed. In other words, the extradition order will override the refugee claim. What this does is prevent those facing extradition from filing bogus refugee claims which, as we all know, can take years to sort out due to many levels of appeal available to claimants.
This provision of Bill C-40 will make the extradition process more efficient and less prone to abuse. The extradition judge will consider the refugee claim in the context of the extradition order.
Of course the minister has the final say, but more on that later. Regretfully this provision applies only in cases where the offence for which extradition is requested is subject to at least 10 years in prison under Canadian law.
That is regrettable because we have enough problems dealing with our own criminal element. We should not be providing any more loopholes that allow those who come to Canada from elsewhere to abuse our system.
I will now move on to a few of the specific concerns I have with this legislation. I am concerned about the cost and the delays. Once again this government appears to have gone out of its way to create a make work project for the legal industry.
There will be ample opportunity for our lawyers to spend hours and hours presenting legal arguments. Our charter of rights and freedoms and the requirements for a judge to be satisfied that the alleged conduct meets the test that would justify a committal for trial in Canada will see to that. As we all know, it is the taxpayer who often ends up having to pay for many of these lawyers.
Our own war crimes trials have shown how difficult it is to establish sufficient evidence to hold a trial in Canada. They also show how inefficient our system becomes when dealing with foreign and historical evidence. This legislation does little to address these difficulties.
I am concerned about the parts of the legislation that permit the minister to interfere. Costs and delays are present here as well. Even after the extradition hearing and all its costs and delays and even after the judge decides to issue an order of committal to await surrender, the minister may decide to refuse to make the surrender order.
After the whole matter finally comes to some form of decision, the minister can refuse to permit extradition. Why would we spend thousands of dollars, perhaps hundreds of thousands, only to have the whole process wasted because the minister decides to pursue a political road?
Section 44 of the bill provides the minister with three reasons for refusal. The first is if the minister is satisfied surrender would be unjust or oppressive. I fail to see why the minister is left with this decision. Surely the judge at the extradition hearing could make this determination upon presentation of evidence. This is a case where we have the political and the executive process getting mixed up with what should be a judicial procedure.
Similarly with the second reason, the minister shall refuse to make a surrender order if the request for extradition is made for prosecuting or punishing by reason of race, religion nationality, ethnic origin, language, colour, political opinion, sex, sexual orientation, age, mental of physical disability or status or that the person's position may be prejudiced for any of those reasons.
The minister again becomes involved in what should be a judicial procedure. Canadian courts make decisions on these listed forms of discrimination in one way or another every day. Evidence is presented and our judges determine whether a case of discrimination and therefore unfairness is made out. Why do we have to take this power away from the judges and give it to the minister? Why is the political process interfering?
The third reason the minister can refuse to make a surrender order is if the minister is satisfied that the conduct for which the extradition has been requested is punishable by death under the laws of the extradition partner. With this third reason the minister has some discretion, as the wording of the section states that the minister may refuse. For the first two reasons the wording is the minister shall refuse.
With respect, this third reason is nothing more than meddling in matters in which we should not be involved. All countries do not have the same laws. They do not have the same cultures and they do not have the same form of political process. We should not be trying to tell other countries that we will refuse to return their accused because we disagree with their method of punishment. Who are we to disagree with the laws as set out in foreign jurisdiction often through democratic means?
I will cite a couple of examples as to the problems of meddling in or refusing to accept the laws of other countries. Without providing names, there is a case presently before our courts where we are refusing to release two accused murderers to the United States. The particular state has the option of imposing the death penalty should these individuals be convicted. Our refusal really comes down to a disagreement over whether Canadian rules of justice which dictate there is to be no capital punishment are right as opposed to the laws of other jurisdictions which believe that capital punishment is an appropriate option as punishment for murder.
I make little comment on the issue of capital punishment here because I am limited in my time and that is a debate for another time. I also make little comment about the fact that the majority of Canadians also hold the view that most murders should be punishable by death. We all know the Liberals are responsible for the removal of capital punishment. They are now trying to dictate their views to all the countries of the world, and this is wrong.
In another case, which I will again not name as it is before the courts, we have discovered in our midst an individual in his late sixties who is facing over 100 years in jail because of a number of white collar crimes. He has already been convicted and sentenced. Under the provisions of Bill C-40 an extradition hearing may well determine that this individual should be committed for extradition. This will likely become a costly and extended procedure. But the minister still holds the ultimate power. Under section 44(1) of this legislation the minister may determine that a surrender order will be unjust or oppressive because we in Canada do not have such lengthy sentencing practices. Again, this is a case from the United States.