Arar still to be on US no fly list. Canadian security certificates unconstitutional

Friday, February 23, 2007
US still to keep Arar on no-fly list: Canadian Security Certifcates Unconstitutional

Of course the US has never apologised for misleading Canadian officals, indeed lying to them, or for sending him to Syria instead of Canada. It is great that the Supreme Court has found security certificates unconstitutional but probably the Conservatives will find some way of amending the legislation to make it legal and the status quo can remain for a year.

'We agree to disagree' with U.S. on Arar: MacKay
Last Updated: Friday, February 23, 2007 | 5:44 PM ET
CBC News
Canada and the United States "agree to disagree" on the status of Maher Arar, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said Friday alongside his U.S. counterpart, Condoleezza Rice.

MacKay, Rice and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa spoke at a press conference in Ottawa following a day of high-level talks on a range of issues, including trade, security and flu pandemic response plans.

"We agree to disagree at times," MacKay said. "It's clear Canada and the United States hold a different position on this issue."

MacKay went on to praise the "tremendous unprecedented co-operation" between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in areas of security.

Rice reiterated previous comments on the Arar affair, saying the United States respects Canada's decision on Arar, but makes its own security decisions based on "our own information."

Arar still on U.S. 'no-fly' list
Arar, a Canadian citizen who was born in Syria, was detained in 2002 by U.S. authorities who suspected him of terrorist links and deported him to his homeland, where he was jailed and tortured. Arar's name was later cleared by a Canadian judicial inquiry, which blamed his deportation in part on the RCMP.



Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to Arar in January and offered him a $10.5-million compensation package for his ordeal.

The U.S. State Department has said it would keep Arar on its security watch list, even though Ottawa has been pushing for his name to be removed.

In January, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said he saw the U.S. information during a visit to Washington and found nothing new to suggest Arar is a safety risk.
MacKay's comments came on the same day as the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the security certificate system used by the federal government to detain and deport foreign-born terrorist suspects.

The court found that the system, described by the government as a key tool for safeguarding national security, violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

MacKay noted the decision allowed the government a year to examine the decision and re-write the law.