Ottawa

The deal that dare not speak its name

The final absurdity of the trial of Omar Khadr.

In Ottawa, the government continued to attempt to distance itself from Mr. Khadr’s early return. “The matter remains between Omar Khadr and the U.S. government,” Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon’s spokeswoman Melissa Lantsman said.

But senior U.S. government officials, prosecutors and defence attorneys all say that Mr. Cannon has approved the deal and an exchange of diplomatic notes has confirmed the Canadian government will favourably consider Mr. Khadr’s repatriation bid in a year. The diplomatic notes make it explicitly clear that Ottawa has been involved. “The Government of Canada therefore wishes to convey that, as requested by the United States, the Government of Canada is inclined to favourably consider Mr. Khadr’s application to be transferred to Canada to serve the remainder of his sentence, or such portion of the remainder of his sentence as the National Parole Board determines.”

The Star has posted the notes in question.

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