When Dr. Diab was eventually released after three years of solitary confinement in France and returned to his family in Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau noted, in hindsight, that what had happened to him should never have happened and should never happen again.

Indeed it should never happen again, which will necessitate saying no to France. This time Canada can and must get it right.

And now, Canada awaits an anticipated second extradition request from France. Minister Lametti could send that request to court and yet another protracted extradition process would unfold. The torment for Dr. Diab and his family would be unbearable.

In Canadian law that decision -- to proceed with the extradition or not -- is discretionary, entirely in the Minister’s hands. Discretion should, surely, always serve justice. Justice means Canada must say no to France.

The answer does not lie in choosing protesters’ rights over community members’ rights. Instead, the answer lies in upholding everyone’s rights. However, we only get there if we have laid the ground in advance.

Now is the time for Ottawa to get its house in order when it comes to human rights; before the next convoy rolls into town.

The experience of the convoy occupation both highlighted and exacerbated deeper dysfunction in Ottawa, which we expect resonates in cities across Canada. The aftermath provides an unprecedented opportunity to advance foundational change, aimed at forging a city that is equitable, safe, vibrant, accountable and inclusive.

The term Kafkaesque, connoting an unfathomable maze of surreal injustice, is often overused. But if there is a case in which it aptly applies, it is that of Hassan Diab.

Dr. Diab’s case has become emblematic of being trapped in a nightmarish labyrinth of injustice which seems to have no end. Two governments have the ability -- and responsibility -- to do something about that: France, most directly, but also Canada. It is unconscionable that they have yet to do so.

Over the past two years, several recognized international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have released reports documenting massive and widespread Israeli violations of the human rights of Palestinians, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The response of the Canadian government has been to look away. It repeatedly rejects the accusation of apartheid without providing any reasons for that conclusion.

I was fortunate to be offered the opportunity write the following article, reflecting on 20+ years of human rights advocacy during my time as Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada between 2000-2020, for inclusion in the Third Edition of the Canadian Yearbook on Human Rights, published by the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa.

The article was written in June 2021 so is not current with recent developments such as the invasion of Ukraine. It is a retrospective look back.

Roxham Road needs to stay open as one very minimal contribution Canada makes to addressing the pressing global challenge of forced displacement. We should also absolutely put in place a rights-based national strategy, led and supported by the federal government, to ensure that the needs of refugee claimants arriving at Roxham Road are met, and that the responsibility for protection is shared with other communities and provinces. Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules in the coming months, and certainly not waiting for that judgement, we should revoke the Safe Third Country Agreement (the agreement itself anticipates that possibility), and thus encourage refugee claimants to come forward at official land border posts rather than continue to make irregular and sometimes dangerous crossings.

Above all of this, we should up our game when it comes to advancing human rights protection around the world, doing so consistently and as a priority in all of our bilateral relationships and multilateral endeavours. Putting human rights first is always the answer, be it keeping people safe or managing borders effectively.

Extradition is an important criminal justice tool and helps ensure that suspects cannot evade justice by fleeing to another country. But if the process is almost entirely weighted in favour of the state seeking extradition, with little regard for the rights of the person facing the extradition, grave injustices can and do occur.

That unfortunately is an apt description of the present state of extradition law in Canada.

Have lessons been learned? That is far from evident. There has been little effort by any order of government to even reach out and hear these views firsthand.

It is not enough for police to simply say next time will be different. This was a colossal failure on the part by the police and all three orders of government: municipal, provincial and federal. It exposed glaring human rights shortcomings. That requires deep and transformational change.

Those conversations have yet to begin.

As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights readies to turn 75 at the end of this year, we are surrounded by so much human rights failure, but also so many reminders of what believing in and committing to human rights makes possible.

This year, every day, let’s ask ourselves, each other and those who hold and aspire to power, did we put human rights first?

To date, the Muslim charitable sector has largely been left to fight this on its own in a country where Islamophobia remains a stubborn reality.

The charitable sector more broadly, and Parliament, must rally to their side – because what is at stake concerns us all.

Today, International Human Rights Day, marks 74 years since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A day for reflection. But more crucially, a day for strengthened commitment to the Declaration’s purpose.

As the Ontario government’s labour dispute with educational workers heads toward likely resolution, there is a risk that Doug Ford’s bullying resort to the notwithstanding clause in section 33 of the Charter of Rights, to override collective bargaining rights, will be forgotten.

That cannot be allowed to happen.

The likelihood, as is often the case, is that the moment has passed, and the agitation and concern about Doug Ford’s resort to section 33 will dissipate. Crisis averted.

This time let’s not let that happen.

Let’s keep the discussion going and ensure that we start to rein it in, however incrementally and gradually, before the next government decides once again casually and repressively to pull it out of their back pocket.

Is Canada now willing to protect its citizens, after abandoning them to years of human-rights violations?

We need to hear clearly and immediately from the Canadian government that a new approach is under way and that all remaining Canadians detained in northeast Syria will be repatriated.

Their families deserve more than ambiguity and silence.

There is a widely-held sense that the upcoming municipal election is a pivotal one, setting much-needed vision and direction for the city. There are many important issues for voters to sort out, including public transit, housing, community development, and the environment.

Also in the mix are numerous concerns spotlighted during the tense weeks of the Convoy Occupation in February. Reflective of how serious those concerns are, the Ottawa People’s Commission on the Convoy Occupation has been established, and is holding hearings and community meetings, and receiving written submissions.

We are serving as its Commissioners. Dozens of city residents have shared their experiences of the occupation with us, and we will hear from many more over the coming weeks. We anticipate issuing our final report early next year. But already there are common themes emerging, which point to key questions to pose to candidates vying for office, be it as mayor or councilor. We offer six suggestions here.

Many in Ottawa are likely tempted to put far behind us the chaos that descended upon the city in February after the “Freedom Convoy” trucks rolled into town. But for the communities that were turned upside down, it isn’t that simple. When the Rolling Thunder motorcycles arrive or when protesters return for Canada Day, many relive the agony of blaring horns and hate-filled taunts endured during those three long weeks, and are terrified it’s going to happen again.

Far from leaving it behind, we must all understand what happened more fully, learn from what was a traumatic experience for thousands of residents, and commit to the changes needed to avoid it happening again.

So the one thing I’ve discovered about recently turning sixty is that it unavoidably invites reflection; and that inevitably includes reflection about the state of our world.

That is a good thing. However, these days it is tempting, almost irresistible, for that to end up in a place of dismay and even despair. How could that not be the case after even just a cursory survey of the world around me?

There is, nonetheless, ample cause for hope and optimism, which is where I am confident I will end up in this rambling reflection. Even when thoughts go first to the many grim reminders of callous inhumanity and absent or bankrupt leadership that surround us.

It cannot take the Emergencies Act to kickstart federalism when we need quick action to uphold human rights. It is time to make sure that federalism works well, all the time, to implement the country’s international human rights obligations consistently, effectively, transparently and accountably.

That is what should have carried the day in responding to the Freedom Convoy occupation, blockades and protests. The inquiry and parliamentary committee offer an opportunity to lay out a road map for getting there.