Former CSIS chief says RCMP kept him in dark on mistakes in Arar case: Knowledge Driven Revolution

The former head of Canada's spy agency says the RCMP never bothered to tell him it had passed faulty information to the United States four years ago that wrongly labelled Maher Arar a terrorist.

Ward Elcock, testifying Tuesday at a parliamentary committee, was the second key player in the intelligence community to reveal he was left out of the loop by RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli.

"The first I became aware of the issue - the potential issue - of inaccuracies in the information was the statement Mr. Zaccardelli made in public in the last few weeks," said Elcock.

At issue is an RCMP assessment, given to U.S. authorities in 2002, that described Arar as an "Islamic extremist" with suspected ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

Justice Dennis O'Connor, who conducted a public inquiry into the affair, concluded the Americans "very likely" relied on the erroneous information to justify arresting Arar and deporting him to Syria, where he was subsequently tortured into a false confession.

In fact, Arar was never more than a peripheral figure in an Ottawa-based RCMP anti-terrorist investigation. The Mounties wanted to question him because he'd been seen in the company of another man targeted in their probe.

Zaccardelli has told the Commons public safety committee he learned of the mistake shortly after Arar was shipped to Damascus.

He said the RCMP tried to correct the mistaken information privately with U.S. officials. But he offered no explanation of why he didn't go public at the time to set things straight.

Wayne Easter, then Liberal solicitor general and political master of the Mounties, has said he was never told of the mistake.

The disclosure that Elcock, then head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, was also kept in the dark clearly troubled MPs on the committee.

"Mr. Zaccardelli hid it from everybody," Serge Menard of the Bloc Quebecois fumed outside the hearing room.

Liberal Mark Holland agreed the RCMP chief, who is expected to be called back for further testimony in the coming weeks, will have some explaining to do.

"We certainly have a lot of questions." said Holland.

MPs from the government side also voiced their displeasure - but not just with the RCMP.

"I would have expected that CSIS would have known a lot more than they've been letting on," said Conservative Gord Brown. "I'm frustrated, I'm disappointed."

The report delivered by O'Connor in September heaped most of the criticism for Arar's ordeal on the RCMP. But the judge also had harsh words for CSIS.

He noted, for example, that the spy service conducted an "inadequate"analysis of the confession Arar made in Syria and concluded wrongly that he "probably" wasn't tortured.

Jim Judd, the current director of CSIS, acknowledged Tuesday that the person who did the analysis lacked sufficient training and expertise.

"We have adjusted our policies and our operational practices,"said Judd. "I would say that would be unlikely to happen today."

O'Connor also took CSIS to task for hindering efforts by the Foreign Affairs Department to free Arar from captivity and bring him back to Canada.

The spy service advised Easter not to sign on to a proposed letter in the summer of 2003 assuring the Syrians that there was no evidence in Canada against Arar.

Elcock was unrepentant on that point, saying it's standard practice for CSIS never to state publicly that any individual is or is not under investigation.

"My advice (to Easter) was that we couldn't go there," said Elcock.

The former spy chief also surprised the committee by confessing he hasn't read Justice O'Connor's report and has relied instead on news coverage of the findings.

Elcock, who is now deputy minister of defence, said that job hasn't left him time to read the actual report.

Judd, for his part, sparked the ire of several MPs by expressing "regret" to Arar and his family over their ordeal but refusing to make a formal apology.

The CSIS director said he can't go further for legal reasons. Lawyers for Arar and the government are trying to settle a lawsuit against Ottawa for millions in financial damages.

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HOME Canadians Should Pay NOT to be Poisoned: NDP V for Vendetta - R for Reality Canadian Bird Flu Pandemic Looming ? Shill of the Week: Stephan Harper Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer Chicken Little Terrorist of the Week: Creating Fake Terrorists Shill of the Week: Paul Martin The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave	Former CSIS chief says RCMP kept him in dark on mistakes in Arar case JIM BROWN - CP November 03, 2006 The former head of Canada's spy agency says the RCMP never bothered to tell him it had passed faulty information to the United States four years ago that wrongly labelled Maher Arar a terrorist. Ward Elcock, testifying Tuesday at a parliamentary committee, was the second key player in the intelligence community to reveal he was left out of the loop by RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli. "The first I became aware of the issue - the potential issue - of inaccuracies in the information was the statement Mr. Zaccardelli made in public in the last few weeks," said Elcock. At issue is an RCMP assessment, given to U.S. authorities in 2002, that described Arar as an "Islamic extremist" with suspected ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Justice Dennis O'Connor, who conducted a public inquiry into the affair, concluded the Americans "very likely" relied on the erroneous information to justify arresting Arar and deporting him to Syria, where he was subsequently tortured into a false confession. In fact, Arar was never more than a peripheral figure in an Ottawa-based RCMP anti-terrorist investigation. The Mounties wanted to question him because he'd been seen in the company of another man targeted in their probe. Zaccardelli has told the Commons public safety committee he learned of the mistake shortly after Arar was shipped to Damascus. He said the RCMP tried to correct the mistaken information privately with U.S. officials. But he offered no explanation of why he didn't go public at the time to set things straight. Wayne Easter, then Liberal solicitor general and political master of the Mounties, has said he was never told of the mistake. The disclosure that Elcock, then head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, was also kept in the dark clearly troubled MPs on the committee. "Mr. Zaccardelli hid it from everybody," Serge Menard of the Bloc Quebecois fumed outside the hearing room. Liberal Mark Holland agreed the RCMP chief, who is expected to be called back for further testimony in the coming weeks, will have some explaining to do. "We certainly have a lot of questions." said Holland. MPs from the government side also voiced their displeasure - but not just with the RCMP. "I would have expected that CSIS would have known a lot more than they've been letting on," said Conservative Gord Brown. "I'm frustrated, I'm disappointed." The report delivered by O'Connor in September heaped most of the criticism for Arar's ordeal on the RCMP. But the judge also had harsh words for CSIS. He noted, for example, that the spy service conducted an "inadequate"analysis of the confession Arar made in Syria and concluded wrongly that he "probably" wasn't tortured. Jim Judd, the current director of CSIS, acknowledged Tuesday that the person who did the analysis lacked sufficient training and expertise. "We have adjusted our policies and our operational practices,"said Judd. "I would say that would be unlikely to happen today." O'Connor also took CSIS to task for hindering efforts by the Foreign Affairs Department to free Arar from captivity and bring him back to Canada. The spy service advised Easter not to sign on to a proposed letter in the summer of 2003 assuring the Syrians that there was no evidence in Canada against Arar. Elcock was unrepentant on that point, saying it's standard practice for CSIS never to state publicly that any individual is or is not under investigation. "My advice (to Easter) was that we couldn't go there," said Elcock. The former spy chief also surprised the committee by confessing he hasn't read Justice O'Connor's report and has relied instead on news coverage of the findings. Elcock, who is now deputy minister of defence, said that job hasn't left him time to read the actual report. Judd, for his part, sparked the ire of several MPs by expressing "regret" to Arar and his family over their ordeal but refusing to make a formal apology. The CSIS director said he can't go further for legal reasons. Lawyers for Arar and the government are trying to settle a lawsuit against Ottawa for millions in financial damages. Read the full article here Broken Link? If the link to the original article is broken or has been altered you can view the article by clicking here. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Features Archive
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