OTTAWA — A lawyer working to bring a Quebec woman home from a Syrian prison camp along with her six children says it is "preposterous" that her departure is being held up by the government's failure to complete her security assessment.
Lawyer Lawrence Greenspon says he has asked Global Affairs Canada to take the necessary, urgent steps to allow the mother to come home with her young children.
He is hoping for the green light soon, as at least 19 other Canadians detained in Syria — six women and 13 children — are expected to board a flight to Canada imminently.
"My information is they're on the move," said Greenspon, who represents the families. "I'm waiting to hear from (Global Affairs) that they are in the air."
The Canadians are among the many foreign nationals in Syrian camps run by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the war-torn region from the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
While the six children of the Quebec woman have been ruled eligible for repatriation from Syria, their mother has been told she cannot join them because her security assessment is incomplete, Greenspon said.
The reason doesn't hold up, given that Global Affairs said in writing late last November that the woman and her children had met the criteria for federal consideration of assistance to Canadians detained in the region, he said.
"It's preposterous, it's a non-excuse because they've known since November last year that she was eligible for assessment," he said. "So they haven't been able to complete an assessment of her for more than four months? That's just not credible, not believable."
Greenspon says separating a mother from her children violates Canada's international commitments as well as the government's policy for assessing possible repatriation cases.
He said he has enlisted Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, in the effort to repatriate the Quebec woman.
"There's a number of things that are available to her to try and do to get Global Affairs to do the right thing."
Global Affairs said in response to questions earlier this week that the department continues to evaluate the provision of assistance, including repatriation to Canada, on a case-by-case basis, in line with its policy framework.
"While outstanding cases are being evaluated, we offered to repatriate Canadian children at the earliest possibility amidst reports of deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in the camps," the department said.
"Agreeing to or requesting repatriation for one’s child is an incredibly difficult decision and one that must be made by the parent, and the parent alone. It is important that such a decision is informed by all available facts."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2023.
Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
