The women and children are among a group of 19 people whom Canada accepted for repatriation from Kurdish-run detention camps in northeastern Syria in January.

These 19 people were held for years in “camps for displaced persons” in an area now controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The other 14 people had arrived in April as planned, but these two women and three children did not show up for the repatriation flight. For several days, neither her lawyers nor the Canadian government knew what was going on.

One of her lawyers later argued that the women and children were held by Kurdish guards and were not allowed to board the plane that was supposed to be repatriating them.

Ottawa attorney Lawrence Greenspon struck an agreement with the Canadian government earlier this year to bring the 19 women and children home from Syria. He said Thursday that the families of repatriated Canadians were naturally “delighted to see their loved ones returning.”

Arrested on arrival?

M^e Greenspon admitted these women could be arrested once they arrive in Canada. Three of the four women who returned in April were immediately arrested and the federal government demanded a peace bond from them.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if[Ottawa]did the same thing with either of these two women,” admitted Frau.^e Greenspon.

The federal government is currently holding talks with the lawyers for the three women arrested in April about what conditions should be included in the peace bond.

Last May, the federal appeals court overturned a January court ruling that four Canadian nationals held in Syrian camps were entitled to Ottawa’s help to return home. M^e Greenspon warns the case will go to Canada’s Supreme Court.

A small group of civil society members, including Senator Kim Pate, is expected to travel to the area in late August to visit the four men in hopes of helping with their repatriation.

M^e Greenspon believes the two women and three children returning this week will provide this delegation with new arguments to show that Canada can indeed repatriate its citizens from northeast Syria.

The delegation also includes Alex Neve, former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, and Scott Heatherington, a retired Canadian diplomat.

Uncertain fate for a Quebecer

Another Canadian mother of six trying to leave Syria, who suffered a setback when her tent was damaged by fire, is not part of the group who are now being repatriated.

M^e Greenspon claims that Ottawa will not help the Quebecer return because Canadian authorities believe she poses a national security risk, and that position has not changed since the fire was reported in late June.

The lawyer expects to go to court to challenge the federal government’s decision to grant repatriation of the six children, but not their mother.

After speaking to her a few days ago, M^e Greenspon claims that this woman is physically and mentally distressed. “She is very, very bad. »