U.S. courts have so far dismissed, on national-security grounds, Mr. Arar's suit against the U.S. government.
Canadian officials could not have "reasonably foreseen" that Mr. Arar would be deported to Syria and tortured, the government contended.
At the time, Canadian authorities "had no knowledge" of the U.S. government's practice of "rendering" terrorist suspects to countries where torture is permitted, according to the mediation brief.
But that statement has since been contradicted by recently disclosed evidence in the O'Connor inquiry.According to previously censored evidence released in August, a CSIS officer in Washington noted in a report to superiors that "when the CIA or FBI cannot legally hold a terrorist subject, or wish a target questioned in a firm manner, they have them rendered to countries willing to fulfil that role.""I think the U.S. would like to get Arar to Jordan where they can have their way with him," Jack Hooper, then deputy director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, added in a memo. Mr. Arar was flown to Jordan before being transferred to Syria.Background info
Docket: Arar v. AshcroftMaher Arar TimelineOutsourcing Torture