Madam Speaker, once again, I am rising on this topic to which I have spoken on many occasions. The minister of state has quite clearly pointed out our position and my colleague for Crowfoot has quite eloquently said exactly what this government has done and will continue doing for Mr. Omar Khadr. This government is doing what it is expected to do. It is providing counsellor services and ensuring Mr. Khadr's rights are protected, and we will continue to do that.
I heard the former minister of justice say that he was concerned about this issue. I heard former Liberal government members, including the former foreign minister and the former leader of the Liberal Party, say that they would have done something different. i want to remind Canadians that these are very serious statements being made by leading members of the former government. They are now saying that they actually made a mistake. I thought that, as members of the government, they were acting responsibly with all the information they had. For them to stand today and say that they think they were wrong at that given time, Canadians should be worried as to what that government was doing when it was in power, especially when they are now changing their decisions and saying that they made a mistake.
I will now go back to Mr. Omar Khadr. At that given time, when Mr. Omar Khadr was captured, he faced serious charges and was taken to Guantanamo Bay. The former minister of justice knew about it and had all the information on his table. He now says that he is sorry and that he had apprehension. If he had apprehension then, he should have taken action. He should not have come here today telling the Conservative government that it is responsible for it. They should take responsibility. They should stand up for what they now say is their mistake on Mr. Omar Khadr. Nothing has changed on the point they are raising today. Mr. Omar Khadr's age at the time of his capture has not changed. What he was captured for and the serious charges he was given are the same. Everything remains the same.
However, let us move forward and come now to this point, which surprises me. The subcommittee report recommendations put forward by the former coalition members concern a time when there was a different administration in the U.S.A. Today, there is a different administration. Things have moved forward. President Obama has said that he will review the case. They stand and say that they like what Mr. Obama is doing, what is happening at Guantanamo Bay and the fact that it is closed and under review. Well, then, what is the problem? He said that within six months he would be reviewing all the cases, including Mr. Omar Khadr's case. What is the problem?
I would venture to say that the report of the subcommittee that has been put forward in this Parliament is actually obsolete because the review of all cases, including Omar Khadr's case, have moved forward. I would suggest that the opposition, which has been raising all these questions, wait to see what comes out of this review. We must not forget about the victims. We always seem to forget about the victims. A medic who had a family was killed. We need to put all these things into context. Why do the members on the other side not talk about the victim who died in this unfortunate incident?
As I have said, the opposition members have been raising issues here about child soldiers and Canada's human rights record. As I stated in my intervention with the Bloc, I was in Burundi where I met child soldiers and looked into their eyes. I can tell members that the reason those guys were child soldiers was economic. It was not a war on terrorism. What we are facing out here was not based on ideology.
I know we keep saying that Mr. Omar Khadr faces serious charges but the fact is that they are serious charges. We now have a process where everything will be under review, so what is the problem? We should let them review.
Sitting next to me is the former minister of foreign affairs who was also very active on the files dealing with child soldiers and also very active in ensuring Canada's human rights records were respected. We have respect around the world.
I just want to say that just because Mr. Omar Khadr is facing serious charges and the process is going on, that does not punish the reputation of Canada. Canada stands very strong in the belief of the rule of law. In this case, again we are following the rule of law. This was a citizen of the United States of America who died. I want to remind everyone here that it was not a Canadian citizen who died. It was an American citizen who dies , which is why Mr. Khadr was caught by the American forces. The process is going on and we should allow that process to continue. Within six months, we will know if the Americans want to go ahead with this process. If they do not want to go ahead with this process, at that given time the Government of Canada will look at all the facts and make the decision.