Legal experts weigh in on Ottawa’s settlement with Omar Khadr
TORONTO — The federal government has reached a settlement with Omar Khadr for violations of his constitutional rights. The government also apologized for the treatment he received outside Canada, including a decade spent in the U.S.-operated prison at Guantanamo Bay. But legal questions still swirl around the settlement, which sources say includes a $10.5-million payment. Some lawyers weigh in to answer them:
— Why did the government give Khadr money in the first place?
Khadr launched a civil suit against the government in 2004 — amended in 2013 — seeking $20 million. In a statement Friday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale described settling the case as the “only sensible course” and added that a trial on the matter likely would have cost millions of dollars more. The government said it would not disclose terms of the settlement, but sources confirm the $10.5-million payment has been made.
—