RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli made a stunning about-face today, saying he and other senior RCMP officials did not know the RCMP conveyed wrong information to American authorities about Maher Arar.
That information, concluded an inquiry judge, "very likely" led to his deportation to torture in Syria.
In a complete contradiction of earlier testimony before a parliamentary committee, Zaccardelli now claims he was unaware throughout Arar's detention by the U.S., and later Syria, of the RCMP missteps.
"When ministers were briefed about the circumstances of the Arar case, their briefings did not include the fact that some inaccurate information had been provided to the Americans by the RCMP," Zaccardelli told a business audience.
"This was not recognized by the RCMP at the time, and senior officials including myself were not informed until the commission of inquiry had completed its work."
The country's top national law enforcement officer was speaking to the Canadian Club of Ottawa.
Later, he denied any discrepancy in his versions, and said he would "clear up any misinterpretation" of his earlier statements tomorrow.
[...]
In September, Zaccardelli claimed the Mounties owned up to errors made in informing the United States that Arar was an "Islamic extremist" tied to Al Qaeda and that he personally had informed himself of the details in the case "shortly after" Arar's jailing in Syria was confirmed to Ottawa in late October 2002.
But three former Liberal solicitors general, who were the political bosses responsible for the RCMP, told the committee they were never informed of that mistaken labelling of Arar.
Did Zaccardelli lie to the committee? Is he lying now? Or has he left himself enough wiggle room with today's statement to avoid a perjury charge? More importantly, when will he resign?
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