I really can't comment whether the recommendations have been implemented. Once again, I'm speaking on my behalf as commission counsel and not on behalf of Mr. Arar. From my perspective, leaving aside part two, the most important recommendations he makes in part one relate to the two things I talked about.
One is information sharing. We see the effects of mislabelling individuals, particularly in foreign countries that are very aggressive as far as terrorist activities are concerned. Inaccurate information, once it's given, is very difficult to take away and remove from the file. Being called a terrorist today is like being called a communist in the 1950s. Once you're labelled a terrorist, it's very difficult to remove that description. On the information sharing, we have to ensure that there are policies in place to ensure the information is reliable and accurate, and that it complies with other laws.
The other important recommendation, which I discussed earlier and I think should be implemented as soon as possible, is the issue of the relationship between Canadian agencies and foreign agencies with poor human rights records. My own view is that any violation of human rights should be dealt with immediately. These are human rights. And if we're aware that foreign countries are abusing the rights of Canadians, we have to ensure and have in place policies that can deal with that situation--and effectively deal with that situation.
Unfortunately, in respect of Mr. Arar's case, there was a great deal of confusion, where different agencies of this country were acting at cross purposes. DFAIT was doing one thing, the RCMP was doing something else, and CSIS was doing something else. We need a coordinated and coherent approach when Canadians are being detained abroad. We have to implement these policies as soon as possible, because this is not a problem that is eliminated at this point in time, as we can see in respect of other situations that are going on today.