We looked at the 15 cases in which allegations of torture or mistreatment were made during our audit period. In some cases we found that they would first need to assess the credibility, and we found that it ranged from a couple of months to six months for that assessment to be made. In most cases it was because they needed time to gather the information, and in some regions it took time to gain access to the detainee and they had to work through the foreign government to be able to do that.
According to Global Affairs' policy, it will only formally inform the minister when there is a credible case that it is likely that torture has occurred. I was very encouraged to hear that the department is now moving to inform the minister when an allegation is made.
What came out of the Maher Arar case was that it is important for the minister to be informed and to thereby be able to make decisions about what action could be taken, because it is very serious when a Canadian abroad is mistreated or there is likelihood that torture has occurred.