Top Five 2010: Canada (Prime Minister) v Khadr

Each year at OJEN’s Toronto Summer Law Institute, a judge from the Court of Appeal for Ontario identifies five cases that are of significance in the educational setting. This summary, based on these comments and observations, is appropriate for discussion and debate in the classroom setting.

Canada (Prime Minister) v Khadr, 2010 SCC 3, [2010] 1 SCR 44

In this case, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled that Omar Khadr’s s. 7 Charter rights had been violated by Canadian intelligence officials who interrogated him while he was subjected to a sleep deprivation technique.  The Supreme Court unanimously wrote that the “executive [branch of government] is not exempt from constitutional scrutiny” [para. 36].  However, the SCC deferred to the federal government to determine the appropriate remedy for the Charter breach. The full decision is available here.