Canadian PM to Apologize to ArarCanadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will give a formal apology to Maher Arar, the Canadian software engineer whom the United States detained and extradited to Syria, where he was brutally tortured.
The announcement, which appears to be a public rebuke of the official U.S. position that Arar may be a terrorist, is set for 12:15, according to Harper’s office. Arar will hold a separate news conference at 2 p.m.
Arar’s case has caused a deepening rift between Canada and the United States, which has to date refused to apologize for their treatment of Arar and will not remove him from its terrorist watch list. Yesterday, the National Post reported that the U.S. ambassador to Canada “scolded” a top Canadian offical for insisting Arar’s name be removed from the U.S. watch list.
Bush Administration officials have delivered secret briefings to the Canadian government in the hopes of justifying Arar’s presence on the watch list, but Canada continues to press the U.S. to clear Arar. “It simply does not alter our opinion that Mr. Arar is not a threat, nor is his family,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said.
Update: CBC reports Canada will pay Arar $8 million plus legal fees to settle his case against them.