Federal government apologizes to Khadr
The federal government formally apologized Friday to former Guantanamo Bay inmate Omar Khadr for any role Canadian officials may have played in his mistreatment while in U.S. military custody.
The apology, delivered in a terse statement from Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, followed reports of a controversial $10.5-million settlement to a long-standing lawsuit over violations of Khadr’s charter rights.
“On behalf of the government of Canada, we wish to apologize to Mr. Khadr for any role Canadian officials may have played in relation to his ordeal abroad and any resulting harm,” the statement reads.
“We hope that this expression, and the negotiated
settlement reached with the government, will assist him in his efforts to begin a new and
hopeful chapter in his life with his fellow Canadians.”
At a news conference on Parliament Hill, Goodale and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould drove home the point that the settlement dealt exclusively with the fact Khadr’s charter rights were violated by the previous Conservative government.
“Reaching a settlement was the only sensible course,” said Goodale, who acknowledged that the debate about what happened on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2002 would surely continue.
“In the pursuit of justice and national security, governments must respect human rights and charter rights and the rule of law.”
Not settling the case would have surely cost Canadian taxpayers millions more, he added. Said Wilson-Raybould: “A Canadian citizen’s charter rights wrere violated; as a result, the government of Canada was required to provide a remedy.