Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to the question put to the House by my hon. colleague, the member for Ottawa West—Nepean, regarding the case of Mr. Maher Arar.
As my colleague knows, on January 28, 2004, the Government of Canada announced that Judge Dennis O'Connor would conduct a public inquiry into the way Canadian officials acted in the deportation and detention of Mr. Maher Arar.
In accordance with the inquiry's terms of reference, which were announced on February 5, 2004, Mr. Justice O'Connor is to investigate and report on the actions of Canadian officials in relation to Mr. Arar, including the detention of Mr. Arar in the United States, the deportation of Mr. Arar to Syria via Jordan, the imprisonment and treatment of Mr. Arar in Syria, the return of Mr. Arar to Canada, and any other circumstances directly related to Mr. Arar that Mr. Justice O'Connor considers relevant to fulfilling this mandate.
The commission is also mandated to recommend an arm's length review mechanism for the activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with respect to national security.
Regarding the factual inquiry, Mr. Justice O'Connor continues to hear from witnesses and to review evidence in this case. Once Mr. Justice O'Connor has completed his investigation he will report on the actions of Canadian officials in relation to Mr. Arar.
In summary, the government has called this inquiry to provide assurances to all Canadians that an independent and respected jurist has examined all of the relevant evidence about the actions of Canadian officials in relation to Mr. Arar's arrest, detention, treatment in Syria and return to Canada, through both public and in camera proceedings. Now we must allow the inquiry to complete this important task.