Washington will keep Maher Arar on a security watch list for the time being, saying it has independent information that warrants keeping him out of the country.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff conveyed that information to Canada's Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day in a letter dated Jan. 16 of this year.
In it, the officials said that in response to concerns raised by Ottawa, they re-examined materials related to Arar. They said based on that review "we remain of the view that the continued watch listing of Mr. Arar is appropriate."
"Our conclusion in this regard is supported by information developed by U.S. law enforcement agencies that is independent of that provided to us by Canada regarding Mr. Arar."
Chertoff and Gonzales say they want to ensure the information is shared with Canada and welcome a confidential meeting with Canadian officials.
But it appears Canadian public security authorities have already seen the secret file on Arar.
On Jan. 17, a day after the letter was dated, Day met with Chertoff in Washington. Day said Canadian authorities had seen the new information provided by the U.S. and that there was "nothing new" in the file that warrants that Arar remain on the list.
"He should not be on a watch list,'' Day said then.
Information 'has not altered' Canadian opinion: Day
"We have seen some recent information that has not altered our opinion on this at all."
On Monday, Day reiterated that position, again saying he had told American authorities in Washington last week that their information "would not alter our position on this matter."
Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, was seized at a New York airport in 2002 and sent to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured. A judicial inquiry into his case, led by Justice Dennis O'Connor, was set up after Arar returned to Canada more than a year later.
O'Connor concluded Arar had no terror links and the RCMP had given misleading information to U.S. authorities, which may have been the reason he was sent to Syria.
Parliament apologized to Arar, and the government has been asking Washington to remove him from a watch list that prevents him from travelling to the U.S. and makes him a marked man, despite being cleared in Canada.
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who last week grilled Gonzales over the Arar affair, said Monday that the letter does not "clear up the confusion as to why Mr. Arar remains on a watch list or why he was sent to Syria in the first place."
"The reason the Arar case is such a sore point and such an offense to American values is that he was sent to Syria, on the Bush Administration’s orders, where he was tortured," Leahy said.
