Kerry Pither

The New York Times is calling on U.S. President Obama to use the opportunity of his visit to Canada to apologize to Maher Arar. “Former President George W. Bush and his aides stubbornly refused to admit the grave injustice done to Mr. Arar,” says the editorial. “President Obama must do better.” It goes further:

Mr. Harper should press the American president on Mr. Arar’s behalf. President Obama can demonstrate his commitment to human rights and the rule of law by addressing Mr. Arar’s case. He should pledge to review the case, including any questions raised by security officials. His administration should also issue a full report on Mr. Arar’s mistreatment, along with an apology, and an offer to compensate him for his injuries. All are long overdue

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I have a feeling it may be up to President Obama to take the initiative on this one…

The Harper government is doing all it can to downplay the shocking findings in the Iacobucci Inquiry’s report, but don’t fall for the spin. Despite having been a one-sided, unfair and needlessly over-secretive process, it has produced a damning report, cataloging the many, many ways that our government agencies, CSIS and the RCMP were complicit in the detention and torture of Canadian citizens. Read my op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen today.