The RCMP and the government have to do more

The injustices against Maher Arar did not stop with the faulty intelligence delivered to the Americans. When Arar's media-savvy wife refused to let his case die and kept it in the public's eye, someone in the RCMP or the government undertook to smear his reputation through unnamed leaks.

In his inquiry into the Arar affair, Justice Dennis O'Connor found that one or more government officials had leaked false and damaging statements about Arar to a number media outlets around the time of Arar's return from Syria to Canada in the fall of 2003.

Among other things, the leaks alleged Arar had trained with al-Qaida, and that he was ''not a virgin'' to terrorist activity.

''This case is an example of how some government officials, over an extended period of time, used the media to put a spin on an affair and unfairly damage a person's reputation,'' O'Connor stated in his report.

The only investigation that is currently open is a criminal probe by the RCMP into a November 2003 article by Ottawa Citizen reporter Juliet O'Neill.

The Canwest report contradicts itself a few paragraphs later when it states:

The leaks, which may have come from within the RCMP's A-division in Ottawa, or from within Canadian Security Intelligence Service or the Foreign Affairs Department, are being investigated by RCMP officers from New Brunswick. In response to questions from MPs, Zaccardelli said he never considered calling in another police force to conduct the probe.

Be that as it may, full light has got to be shone on this shameful incident. Somebody has got to be held accountable for spreading malicious rumours about Arar. Talk about kicking a man when he is down!

Journalists too have got to step up and take some responsibility. If unnamed sources must be used, the information should be corroborated if possible. When it can't be, it shouldn't be used without full and explicit disclaimers.

My normal cynicism would cause me to throw up my hands in despair at this point and say, "As if," but events over the last year lead me to some optimism. The blogosphere, though still maligned and ridiculed and still having all too many elements worthy of it, has flexed its muscles over the last year, discovering a vocation for fact-checking mainstream journalists. From doctored photos of the Lebanese conflict to skewed reports on the CBC, bloggers have been playing detective, and smoking out examples of dishonest or sloppy journalism. I hope the trend continues, and that governments and journalists alike will find it harder and harder to spin and mislead.

The government should obviously be offering Arar both an apology and compensation. Negotiations are underway for the latter, so I'll withhold commentary for the time being. An apology should be forthcoming though, and the sooner the better. By and large, I think Harper has been doing a good job, but he has dropped the ball on this one. I have difficulty buying the "legal ramifications" explanation, which he hasn't really given anyway. There hasn't been an explanation of any kind really. While I'm still prepared to believe it isn't malicious, it still looks bad, even to the people who are not trying to interpret everything he does as evil or misguided. Step up to the plate, Stephen, it's time.

Technorati tags: Maher Arar

RCMP apologizes to Arar [Updated]

The head of the RCMP has stayed mum on the Arar affair, promising to speak to the matter today before a House of Commons committee. He came through.

RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli apologized on Thursday to Maher Arar, and said he accepts all the recommendations of a report criticizing the Mounties for their role in the Canadian's deportation to Syria, where he was tortured.

"Mr. Arar, I wish to take this opportunity to express publicly to you and to your wife and to your children how truly sorry I am for whatever part the actions of the RCMP may have contributed to the terrible injustices that you experienced and the pain that you and your family endured," Zaccardelli said.

The RCMP commissioner made the statement at the House of Commons committee on public safety and national security, which is looking at Justice Dennis O'Connor's report on the Arar case.

This is his first public statement about the report, which was released on Sept. 18.

"I accept the recommendations of the report without exception," Zaccardelli told the committee.

But he said he personally wasn't aware of Arar's case until after Arar was already in jail in Syria.

The agency has learned "valuable lessons" since Arar's ordeal and "some of them we learned painfully," the commissioner added.

Good for Zaccardelli. Since the O'Connor report, the RCMP has been consistently pleading inexperience in their handling of the Arar case. Zaccardelli is now pleading personal ignorance as well, which could very well be true.

I get a few things out of this, mostly in the RCMP's favour. Seeing as they were abruptly thrown back into the national security business after 9/11 and had lost all savvy in the field after 20 years' absence, their plea of inexperience is more than plausible. They messed up, big time. At least they are willing to admit it. No weaseling out, no finger-pointing at others, no lame justifications.

This is where the Canadian police force is outshining the authorities on the American side of the border, who have issued no apologies, allowed no investigations or court challenges, and who still have not removed Arar and his wife from their no-fly list.

I also like that they aren't arguing with the report recommendations, following in the footsteps of the government. It's a great start. Following through with actual implementation will be more impressive.

Now if Zaccardelli would do something about the RCMP's consistent and chronic stonewalling of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, the national police force could again become a source of national pride, instead of fueling our cynicism. It is one thing to make an apology before a House committee, quite another to bring about a sea change in the culture of the RCMP, which has been to stall, deny and stonewall whenever there are allegations of wrong-doing. If Zaccardelli could effect this kind of change, he would deserve a place in history as one of the all-time great commissioners. Unfortunately, he's had several years to start work on it and to date has done nothing. Today's apology might be nothing more than political smarts and unfortunately, the bulk of the evidence is in favour of this conclusion.

[Update]

Other major points from Zaccardelli's testimony:

He has no intention of offering his resignation over the Arar affair.
There is no ongoing investigation into Arar or his wife.
He also flatly denies that the Conservative government has muzzled him in any way.

Maclean's characterizes him as "fighting to keep his job", which I think is yet another example of journalists taking themselves way too seriously. Just because the occasional journalist or back bench politician might have uttered the opinion that Zack should step down, the man isn't fighting to keep his job until the people who can fire him are starting to emit opinions like that. Get over yourselves, people. You don't run the country.

Technorati tags: Giuliano Zaccardelli, Maher Arar

RCMP nervous about O'Connor report

Justice O'Connor's report on the Maher Arar affair is due out on Monday. The Toronto Star reports that the RCMP is bracing for criticism of the way they passed information on to American authorities without proper analysis, but that they are likely to plead inexperience.

With this context, some observers are wondering if the government will respond to O'Connor's report by saying that the RCMP may have been inexperienced in the early days post-9/11 and mistakes were made, but improvements have already been implemented.

That was the reaction back in 2004 with the release of an internal RCMP report that found the force ill-equipped to deal with terrorism investigations.

"Post-9/11 was a different time (from) where we are now. Everything has changed," RCMP spokesperson Insp. Tim Cogan told the Star at the time. "We're in a different world today than we were then. ... A lot of progress has been made after this historically unprecedented event."

Well, at least they aren't trying to justify it.

Technorati tags: Maher Arar, Dennis O'Connor