5. Canada should bring them home.

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa
• Position: Bench Press

Two Canadians imprisoned in the United States asked the federal government to allow them to serve out the balance of their sentences in Canada under the International Transfer of Prisoners Act. Both men were convicted on non-violent drug trafficking offences and the Correctional Service of Canada stated that neither man posed a threat to Canadian security and were unlikely to offend. Both had social and family ties in Canada that would help in their rehabilitation and reintegration. If the men were not transferred back to Canada, then at the end of their incarceration they would be deported to Canada with no requirement for supervision or control. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews refused their requests, alluding to evidence linking one man to organized crime, and the other to possible accomplices. Justice James O'Reilly of the Federal Court ruled that the Minister acted unreasonably in refusing the men's applications and found that there was no evidence to support his reasons for refusing the transfers. Justice O'Reilly stated that the law...