(Global News) It would be “unprecedented and unprincipled” to help Canadian ISIS suspects detained in Syria, the federal government has argued in a court filing.
Responding to a lawsuit by the families of Canadians captured during the fight against ISIS, the government detailed its legal position for the first time.
The families want the Federal Court to order Ottawa to bring the detainees back to Canada from prisons and camps run by U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters.
But federal lawyers argued the case should be dismissed, since accepting the families’ claims would improperly extend the Charter of Rights beyond Canada’s borders.
“The applicants are being detained outside of Canada by foreign entities. These entities are operating entirely independently of Canada’s jurisdiction or control,” they wrote.
