Cannon denies Ottawa participated in Khadr plea discussions
But will ‘implement’ plea deal made between Khadr and U.S.
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Canada has agreed to “implement” a plea deal between the U.S. Government and Omar Khadr, to allow the confessed criminal back into the country after he serves one year in Guantanamo Bay. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon faced questions in the House of Commons, and insisted the Canadian government was not involved in plea negotiations. However, shortly before Cannon spoke in the Commons, a State Department spokesman in Washington said an exchange of diplomatic notes with Canada on Oct. 23 “helped pave the way” for the plea bargain. But Cannon quoted the chief prosecutor at the tribunals, navy Capt. John F. Murphy, as saying the plea deal was solely between the U.S. and Khadr’s lawyers. Cannon is accused of either being disingenuous and knowingly misleading Canadians or of ignorance about the goings-on in his department. Khadr, now 24, was sentenced Sunday to 40 years in prison for war crimes, including the murder of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in 2002. The plea deal caps Khadr’s sentence at eight years.