Mr. Speaker, on February 9, the Amnesty International group at Thérèse-Martin de Joliette secondary school and their teacher, Marcel Lacroix, sent letters to President Obama and the Prime Minister asking for the return to Canada of young Omar Khadr, who has been held in Guantanamo for over six years. This child soldier was only 15 when arrested.
For more than three years, these young people from my riding of Joliette, and many human rights activists, have been constantly calling on the government to bring young Khadr back to Canada. They are urging the Prime Minister to ask President Obama, at their meeting scheduled for February 19, to return Omar Khadr.
This government remains insensitive and refuses to listen to the calls for the return of Omar Khadr by Amnesty International, the Canadian Bar Association, human rights groups and the Bloc Québécois.
I wish to commend Amnesty International for its tireless efforts and I applaud the commitment of the young people in my riding who, unlike this government, show a social conscience.