Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I also would like to welcome you, Commissioner, and express my appreciation to you for your public apology this morning on behalf of the RCMP to Maher Arar and his family for the terrible injustice, as you put it, that they experienced and the nightmare they endured, and also for putting in place the recommendations set forth by the O'Connor commission
As you know, Commissioner, the principal findings of the O'Connor commission were not only that Maher Arar was an innocent person, but that indeed he was the innocent victim of both the American and Syrian governments and the actions of Canadian officials. In particular, the commission found that while the RCMP, as you yourself stated, did not know, participate in, or acquiesce in the United States' decision to deport Mr. Arar to Syria, RCMP officials, nonetheless, one, conveyed false and misleading information to American authorities, which, in the words of the commission, likely contributed to Arar's removal to Syria and the torture he then experienced; two, provided inaccurate and misleading information to the Privy Council and the government ministers; and three, deliberately leaked false and misleading information to the public after Maher Arar's release--and one would say knowingly so--the consequences of which were devastating for Maher Arar and his reputation, as the commission put it.
My question, then, to you, Commissioner, is this. What did you know and when did you know it? In particular, were you aware of the conveyance of the false and misleading information by RCMP officials to a U.S. authority that likely contributed to his removal, for example, that Maher Arar and his wife were Islamic extremists who were associated with the al-Qaeda terrorist movement, a characterization that, as the commission put it, would have disastrous consequences if so made as it was?
Those are my questions to you, Commissioner.