I see. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to do that the first time around...? As you can tell from my questions, I was convinced at the time that you knew Mr. Arar had no ties whatsoever to any terrorist organizations at the time of his detention in Syria.
Wen I asked you this question, Commissioner, you responded that immediately upon learning of Mr. Arar detention in Syria, you asked to see his file. You knew that an error by the RCMP had led to this chain of events. According to everyone, you left him to rot in a Syrian prison for almost a year. In the minds of most, but not all, Canadians, prior to the release of Justice O'Connor's report, Mr. Arar was linked to terrorists and you knew that was false. I said as much to you on September 28 last.
I then asked you this question: why is it that you did not find some way to intervene and advise the minister personally of this mistake?
In essence, why did you not do everything in your power to gain Mr. Arar's release and to restore his reputation prior to the report's release?
Would this not have been a good opportunity, Commissioner, if what you're telling us this morning is true, to correct our impression that you knew, while Mr. Arar was being detained in a Syrian prison, that he had no ties whatsoever to terrorists and yet was being detained in one of the worst prisons in the world?