Statement from foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar and international human rights critic Wayne Marston on the repatriation of Omar Khadr

Today, the Conservatives ended nearly a decade of unnecessary delays and allowed Omar Khadr to serve out the remainder of his sentence in Canada. Canada is the last Western country to repatriate their citizens from the discredited Guantanamo prison system.

Mr. Khadr's return to Canada was inevitable, yet the Conservatives chose to drag this process out for years at great cost to taxpayers. Their mishandling has hurt our relationship with the United States, our closest ally, and tarnished Canada's reputation on the international stage.

Both the Supreme Court of Canada and the U.S. Supreme Court, based on the full facts of this case, have found that the military commission proceedings in Guantanamo violated both U.S. domestic law and Canada’s international human rights obligations.

Conservatives have previously faced court judgments against them for their mishandling of the case and failure to respect human rights.

The government should now allow Mr. Khadr to be handled by Canadian authorities in accordance with Canadian law, free from interference.