The assistant commissioner of the RCMP instructed staff to withhold key information from Canada's foreign minister about their investigation into a Canadian citizen allegedly tortured in a Syrian jail...
Former foreign affairs minister Bill Graham asked for a thorough briefing by RCMP after then-U.S. ambassador Paul Cellucci suggested Maher Arar's deportation by U.S. authorities to Syria was based on Canadian intelligence.
But in an Oct. 18, 2002 memo that was read at the Arar inquiry, Richard Proulx informed the RCMP commissioner "there will be no information of an operational-tactical nature released to (Foreign Affairs)."...
The RCMP's deputy commissioner for operations, Garry Loeppky, defended the decision, saying day-to-day operational decisions, tactics employed and evidence are of no concern to Foreign Affairs.
Now, it may have helped to actually listen to Foreign Affairs in making that decision. In Graham's earlier testimony, he said that he believed the RCMP and CSIS when they each denied any involvement in Arar's rendition, but that he was frustrated in trying to get information.
The released memo makes it clear that this was the result of deliberate policy rather than a mere oversight. Heads should be rolling over that call; we'll see how long it takes for that to happen.
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