TORONTO—Word that the federal government has agreed to pay former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr more than $10 million and apologize to him to settle a long-running lawsuit has sparked a furious reaction among those who see him as a terrorist killer. Those who believe he deserves compensation welcomed the news.
The settlement, confirmed by sources familiar with the deal, exposed the deep chasm that has divided Canadians over Khadr almost since 2002 when he was dragged horrifically wounded as a 15-year-old from the battlefield in Afghanistan.
“When a Canadian soldier is injured in battle, the government provides a disability award up to a maximum of $360,000,” Conservative MP Michelle Rempel said in a tweet. “Despite this, the current government is willing to provide $10 million to a convicted terrorist.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation started an online petition aimed at Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deploring the deal one source said was signed last week.
“This is offensive to many Canadians,” the petition states. “Canadians should not be forced to pay millions of dollars to a killer.”
Social media exploded with denunciation of the agreement, which sources said would see the government pay Khadr $10.5 million—part of which would go to his lawyers—and the justice and public safety ministers formally apologize to him.
Posters used words such as “disgraceful,” some called for the Canadian citizen to be kicked out of the country, while others argued the money should go to the family of Chris Speer, the U.S. special forces soldier Khadr is alleged to have killed in 2002.
