Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day just wrapped a press conference to respond to Justice O’Connor’s inquiry into the Arar matter. One of Day’s responses was to fire up yet another inquiry, this time into alleged mistreatment by Abdullah Almalki, (right to left in the picture on the left) Ahmad Abou-Elmaati, and Muayyed Nureddin.
Here’s the release from Day’s office:
Canada’s New Government announces inquiry into the cases of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin
OTTAWA, December 12, 2006 – The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, today announced on behalf of the Government of Canada, that the Honourable Frank Iacobucci will undertake an inquiry into the cases of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin.Mr. Iacobucci has been appointed as Commissioner of this Inquiry under Part I of the Inquiries Act. The Commissioner will have all the powers set out in the Act, including the authority to hold hearings, summon witnesses and gather evidence needed to conduct the inquiry.
“This Inquiry demonstrates that our new government is taking concrete steps to implement the recommendations made by Justice O’Connor in his report on the events relating to Maher Arar,” said Minister Day. “We believe this new Inquiry, headed by Mr. Iacobucci, is the most efficient and capable way of addressing the cases of Messrs. Almalki,
Abou-Elmaati, and Nureddin. This government is committed to ensuring the protection of Canadians,” he added.As Commissioner of the Inquiry, Mr. Iacobucci’s mandate will be to determine whether:
· The detention of these three individuals in Syria or Egypt resulted from actions of Canadian officials, particularly in relation to the sharing of information with foreign countries.
· Those actions or the actions of Canadian consular officials were deficient in these cases.
· Any mistreatment of these three individuals in Syria or Egypt resulted from any deficiencies in the actions of Canadian officials.
This Inquiry is expected to deal with sensitive national security matters. While public hearings are possible, it is likely the inquiry will be carried out largely in camera.
The report resulting from the Inquiry will be submitted to the Government by January 31, 2008. The Inquiry’s terms of reference and a biography of Mr. Iacobucci are also available at www.publicsafety.gc.ca.