OTTAWA, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The Canadian government is seeking the fastest legal method to extradite a relative of Tunisia's exiled president, the foreign affairs minister said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the government wants Belhassen Trabelsi, the wealthy brother-in-law of ousted Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, out of the country as soon as possible, The Globe & Mail newspaper reported.
Trabelsi, his wife, four children and a nanny arrived in Montreal Jan. 20 on a private jet from the former French colony in northern Africa as his bother-in-law fled to Saudi Arabia, the Toronto Star said.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Ben Ali's relatives weren't welcome in Canada, which Cannon reiterated to reporters in Ottawa Friday.
"We will find … within existing Canadian law, the means that will ensure that we can comply with the Tunisian government's request as quickly as possible, so this individual is no longer on Canadian territory," Cannon said.
However, there is a diplomatic snag, as Canada doesn't have an extradition treaty with Tunisia and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police force said it hasn't received a warrant for Trabelsi's arrest.
Thursday, the Canadian government revoked Trabelsi's permanent residency status he obtained in the 1990s, the Star said.
