By Lorne Waldman

The Toronto Star
Feb. 22, 2006

In a democracy, citizens who are wronged expect to be able to hold to account those responsible. If the perpetrator is a government official, then the aggrieved should be able to seek compensation.

But since Sept. 11, the national security apparatus has used secrecy to avoid responsibility for illegal conduct. Just ask Maher Arar.

Last week, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed Arar’s civil action for damages on grounds that, if allowed to continue, it would jeopardize national security and harm international relations.

In his reasons, the judge noted that if Arar’s lawyers were permitted to question U.S. officials, it might reveal that, despite denials, Canadian officials were indeed complicit in the decision to deport Arar to Syria.

He concluded that because of the serious impact such revelations might have on international relations, the case should be dismissed.

The decision is a serious setback to Arar’s efforts to bring to justice U.S. officials responsible for his deportation and torture.

But although things have not yet progressed as far in Canada, we should not feel too complacent. Here, the anti-terrorism measures introduced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks have seriously undermined official accountability.

Consider the Arar inquiry.

Although the government acknowledged that what had happened to Arar was so serious that it required the public be fully informed of the role played by Canadian officials, it then allowed CSIS and the RCMP to suppress most of the evidence by claiming security confidentiality.

We can only hope that when the commissioner’s report is made public, the veil of secrecy will be removed.

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