Victims of terrorism bill could provoke reprisals

Ottawa: A proposed law to allow Canadian victims of terror to sue their attackers and the countries that support them could open Canada to reprisal lawsuits and is raising questions whether the victims would ever collect any settlements.
The federal government yesterday introduced legislation to enable Canadians to seek legal redress for terrorist acts committed around the world dating back to Jan. 1, 1985, a timeframe that includes the bombing of Air India Flight 182.
The proposed law would allow Canadian victims of terrorist acts to seek civil damages in this country against countries, organizations or individuals.
The legislation would give federal lawmakers the power to brand specific countries as supporters of terrorism and strip away the immunity that shields them from lawsuits.
But opposition critics were wary about the fallout of the bill, saying those same governments could take legal aim at Canada.
"You can see the obvious targets using exactly the same type of rationale as is in this bill, putting us on those lists and we ultimately could be a target for legislation in other countries," said New Democrat MP Joe Comartin.
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler said the government erred by deciding it will arbitrarily rule what countries can be sued under this legislation.
"We made a mistake by having a limited list of designated countries and made it political," Cotler said.
03/06/09 Bruce Campion-Smith/The star.com, Canada

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Categories: Air India - International Jun 2009, Foreign Jun 2009, NACIL Jun 2009, Safety Jun 2009