Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Nov.1, 2010.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The Harper government has agreed to allow convicted war criminal Omar Khadr to return to Canada after he serves one year of sentence in a Guantanamo Bay prison.
Saying the government was not involved in negotiating the plea bargain, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon confirmed that Ottawa will allow Mr. Khadr's repatriation during Question Period on Monday.
"We will implement the agreement that was reached between Mr. Khadr and the government of the United States," Mr. Cannon said in response to a question from Gilles Duceppe.
The Bloc Québécois Leader had asked the minister: "Yes or no, will the Prime Minister authorize the transfer of Omar Khadr once he has served his one year?"
On Sunday, a U.S. military panel imposed a 40-year sentence on Mr. Khadr. The 24-year-old, who has been in the Cuban prison since he was 15, pleaded guilty last week to murdering an American solider. He also pleaded guilty to terrorism and spying charges.
Under a plea bargain agreement, Mr. Khadr's lawyers had negotiated an eight-year sentence of which only one year had to be served in Guantanamo.
In Question Period, the opposition accused the government of having a role in the negotiations after having denied any involvement.
Picking his words carefully, Mr. Cannon said the "government of Canada did not participate in negotiations around the sentence."