For very good reason he was quite fearful that the government would not follow through on its word, and he's pinching himself right now not believing that this government has finally kept its word" (Gillies). .
Norris said that the transfer came ten years too late and that Khadr would be eligible for parole in the summer of 2013. However, according to Toews, the US initiated Khadr's transfer and basically forced Canada to accept him because he is a Canadian citizen. Now Canada's national parole board will be responsible for deciding his release date, but Toews cautioned the parole board to consider the fact that Khadr "idealizes" his father and "appears to deny" Ahmed Khadr's history with al-Qaeda and terrorist groups. In the event that Khadr is granted parole, Toews suggested "robust conditions of supervision" (Gillies). .
Although Omar Khadr would not acknowledge his father's dealings with al-Qaeda, his mother and sister "have openly applauded" his father's "crimes and terrorist activities." Khadr's father was killed in 2003 while staying with a senior al-Qaeda operative. A helicopter belonging to the Pakistani military shelled the house, killing Ahmed and paralyzing Khadr's youngest brother who now lives in Toronto. Prior to his death, Ahmed was arrested in Pakistan for taking part in the bombing of the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad in 1995. Ahmed was released only after Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien asked Pakistan to grant Ahmed due process. Chretien regretted his decision when Ahmed surfaced as an al-Qaeda figure, and since then, the Canadian government has refused to help the Khadr family (Gillies). .
Toews noted that Omar has had "little contact with Canadian society and will require substantial management in order to ensure safe integration in Canada. I am satisfied the Correctional Service of Canada can administer Omar Khadr's sentence in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed and ensure the safety of Canadians is protected during incarceration" (Gillies).