Canada is "appalled" that Sri Lanka has been chosen to host the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in November, its foreign minister says. John Baird said Sri Lanka had failed in the fundamental Commonwealth values of "freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance". Sri Lanka dismissed Canada's objections, saying Commonwealth members had agreed the summit could go ahead. Sri Lanka's army defeated Tamil rebels after a brutal 26-year war in 2009. The entire conflict left at least 100,000 people dead. Both sides were accused of human rights abuses throughout the conflict, with much focus on what happened in its final stages, when thousands of civilians were trapped in a thin strip of land in the north of Sri Lanka as fighting raged around them. Estimates of civilian deaths in the final months range widely from 9,000 to 75,000.