Khadr was victim of terrorism

On July 14, The StarPhoenix published a column by John Gormley in which he vilified the Canadian government for paying reparations to Omar Khadr for mistreatment by the past Canadian government.

He stated that paying the award to Khadr, after more than a decade of unlawful treatment at the hands of the Canadian and American governments, betrayed “Canadian values.”

Under Canadian, American, and international law, Khadr was a child soldier — not a terrorist, as stated by Gormley. It seemed likely that Gormley, as a lawyer, should have understood the status of “child soldier” under Canadian and international law. Since Gormley said in the article that Khadr was “nearly 16” it seemed clear that he was purposely distorting the truth about his lawful status. Telling the truth and acting according to Canadian law are also Canadian values that should be respected.

On Thursday, Aug. 17, I received a telephone call from a representative of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, soliciting a donation and using the same arguments advanced by Gormley. The young woman who called me stated that Khadr was a convicted terrorist who had been unjustly compensated by the Canadian government, and that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation needed donations to take the Canadian government to task for paying compensation to him. When I pointed out that Khadr was the victim of terrorism rather than a perpetrator, she abruptly ended the telephone call. Why is the Canadian Taxpayers Federation also misrepresenting the truth about Khadr to raise funds in Canada?

Robert Sanche, Saskatoon