Michelle Rempel on Fox News: Canadians 'outraged' by Khadr settlement
Conservative Calgary MP Michelle Rempel slammed the Canadian government's multi-million dollar deal with Omar Khadr on Fox News.
"Most Canadians, I think, are quite outraged and quite disappointed by this state of affairs," Rempel told host Tucker Carlson during the in-person interview on Monday, which included a graphic of Khadr that read: "Terrorist Payday."
The federal government has paid the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner $10.5 million and apologized for the way he was treated.
Khadr spent 10 years in the U.S. military facility after being captured as a 15-year-old in Afghanistan.
In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that Khadr's rights were violated at Guantanamo Bay.
The government has argued it had little chance of winning a wrongful imprisonment lawsuit, and that further contesting it would have cost even more.
"I think many Canadians would have preferred to see this play out in a court of law," said Rempel, arguing it was not a partisan matter.
Some are questioning why Rempel chose Fox News as a platform.
"I'm not sure that that's, if you like, the kind of venting that we want on an international stage. This is a Canadian matter that many Canadians would like to see settled or dealt with within Canada," said Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
"She knows that there are a number of Canadians who are sympathetic with her position, but I don't think there are as many Canadians that are sympathetic with Fox News. I'm not sure that was the venue that was best to express her views."
More than two-thirds of Canadians feel Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the wrong choice in awarding the settlement to Khadr, according to a recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute.
CBC News asked Rempel for comment, but has not received a response.
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