Arar Vindicated - Government Under Pressure to Implement O'Connor Recommendations

On September 18, 2006, Justice Dennis O'Connor, Commissioner of the Arar Inquiry released his interim report into the actions of Canadian officials in relation to Maher Arar. Mr. Arar is the Syrian born Canadian who was deported by the United States to Syria via Jordan in October of 2002 and who was subsequently tortured in Syria. Commissioner O'Connor's report completely clears Mr. Arar of any allegations of terrorism and membership in Al Qaeda. Instead, Mr. O'Connor finds considerable fault with the conduct of the RCMP and other government agencies that substantially contributed to Mr. Arar's deportation to and torture in Syria.

The Arar Commission of Inquiry was established in February 2005 to investigate and report on the detention, deportation, torture and return to Canada of Mr. Arar as well as give policy advice to government on the best mechanism for accountability of the RCMP’s national security activities. Mr. O'Connor's voluminous account of the actions of Canadian officials in relation to Mr. Arar includes a 376 page report with findings and recommendations as well as two large volumes of Factual Background some of which has been excerpted due to national security confidentiality claims of government.

The BCCLA has been very critical of the government’s claims to confidentiality. The Arar Commission expects to have to go to court to force the government to release further details. After Mr. Arar's return to Canada in October 2003, the BCCLA along with other groups called for the creation of a public inquiry into the case of Mr. Arar. The Association purchased ad space in the Globe and Mail to write an open letter to then Prime Minister Paul Martin in December 2003 and held a rally for Mr. Arar in early 2004. The BCCLA has been an Intervenor in both the Factual Inquiry and the Policy Review. Subsequent to the release of Mr. O'Connor's report, the Association has been outspoken in the media calling for the government to agree to implement Mr. O'Connor's recommendations.

A summary of the main conclusions found by Commissioner O'Connnor include:

• The RCMP provided inaccurate and misleading information to American authorities without warnings about the appropriate use of such information that portrayed Mr. Arar in an unfavourable light, including that he was suspected of being linked to the Al Qaeda terrorist movement, despite the fact that the RCMP had no factual basis for this assertion.
• It is very likely that, in making the decisions to detain and remove Mr. Arar, American authorities relied on information about Mr. Arar provided by the RCMP.”

• The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade distributed to the RCMP and CSIS a confession by Mr. Arar to terrorist involvement, without informing them that the confession was likely extracted under torture.
• The RCMP sent a list of questions to Syrian Military Intelligence for Mr. Almalki, who Mr. Arar had brief associations with in Canada, which in part, led to his detention and deportation. Such an action likely sent a signal to the SMI that the RCMP approved of the imprisonment and interrogation of Mr. Almalki and created a risk that the SMI would conclude that the RCMP also considered Mr. Arar a terrorist threat.
• The RCMP failed to cooperate to assist in an earlier effort at a joint letter to reassure Syrian authorities that Mr. Arar was not considered a terrorist risk.
• The RCMP did nothing to set the record straight after illegal leaks that painted Mr. Arar as an Al Qaeda member after his return to Canada.
• The RCMP were not forthright in briefing Canadian officials regarding the truth about Mr. Arar, neglecting to inform them of important details that would be positive for Mr. Arar.

Commissioner O'Connor's report makes 23 recommendations including:

• The RCMP must only share information after appropriate screening for relevance, reliability and accuracy and with the inclusion of appropriate caveats.
• There must be appropriate and independent civilian review body to review the national security activities of the RCMP.
• There must be appropriate training of the RCMP and other agencies regarding profiling of Muslim and Arab communities and citizens.
• The Government of Canada should register a formal objection with the United States and Syria regarding the treatment of Maher Arar.
• The Government of Canada should assess Mr. Arar’s claims for compensation and respond accordingly.

Mr. O'Connor is expected to release his report regarding his recommendations for an independent civilian review agency for the RCMP's national security activities in October 2006. The BCCLA's efforts are now focused on meeting with the government and opposition to press for a speedy implementation of Mr. O'Connor's recommendations. The BCCLA encourages those who wish to press the government to quickly implement Commissioner O'Connor's recommendations to e-mail the following individuals:

• The Right Honourable Stephen Harper,
  Prime Minister of Canada
• The Honourable Stockwell Day,
  Minister for Public Safety
• The Honourable Vic Toews,
  Minister of Justice

Did you know that you can name the BCCLA as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, or you can assign ownership of an existing policy to the Association? Each of these options has its tax advantages.

Another option, allowing you to keep the policy in your name is the donation of life insurance proceeds. This can be done in several ways. You can name the BCCLA as the beneficiary, name the BCCLA as the contingent beneficiary or name your estate as beneficiary and gift the proceeds to the Association.

If you are considering assigning the BCCLA as beneficiary of a life insurance policy, we strongly recommend obtaining legal advice before doing so. The BCCLA is happy to help arrange for a consultation with one of Vancouver's most prominent tax lawyers. Please feel free to contact Sarah Frew, Director of Development at 604-687-2919 or email sarah@bccla.org and she would be happy to help arrange an appointment or provide you with further information.

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