HAMBURG, GERMANY—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says an apology and reported $10.5-million compensation payment to former Guantanamo Bay inmate Omar Khadr was a basic matter of following Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.The settlement is not about the details of Khadr’s case but the fact his rights were violated, Trudeau said.“The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects all Canadians, every one of us, even when it is uncomfortable,” he said. “When the government violates any Canadian’s charter rights, we all end up paying for it.”The prime minister made his brief comments in answering a question at the closing press conference following the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg.The settlement resolves a long-standing lawsuit in which Khadr claimed Canada had violated his rights and was complicit with the United States when he was detained at the U.S. base in Guantanamo, Cuba denied access to a lawyer and tortured. Khadr was seeking $20 million in damages.Read more: 15 years and nearly $5 million in legal costs later, Ottawa apologizes to Omar KhadrThe Supreme Court of Canada in 2010 ruled Khadr’s rights had been violated.The apology and payout sparked fresh public debate about Khadr. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer decried the settlement as “disgusting,” saying Khadr’s return to Canada should have been remedy enough.“Justin Trudeau should never have agreed to a secret deal that gave a convicted terrorist millions of dollars,” Scheer said.An online petition by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation calling on the Trudeau government to revoke Khadr’s multimillion dollar payout received more than 52,000 signatures in two days.In an interview on Friday, Khadr lamented the “political circus” his case has created, and said he hopes the settlement would allow him and Canadians to move on.“I’m not celebrating it. It’s a time for reconcil ...
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