I Know I Am Repeating Myself But.....

.....let's not forget on whose watch that this "injustice" occurred. Are Dion supporters listening.

EDITORIAL: Arar's suffering priceless
By SUN MEDIA

There will be some who will criticize the Canadian government for the compensation deal it has reached with Maher Arar. The $10.5 million is too generous, they'll complain. Plus an apology. It's unwarranted.

It cannot be justified.

But who among them, we wonder, would have traded places with this unfortunate Canadian citizen four-and-a-half years ago, when he was plucked from a New York airport and whisked to Syria?

Over the course of his year-long imprisonment, Arar suffered unspeakable torture. He was beaten, humiliated, threatened with death. Even when he wasn't being tortured, he suffered the anguish of hearing the screams of others being beaten in nearby cells.

Arar never knew whether each day he suffered through would be his last. Whether he would see his wife and family again. Whether he'd ever again set foot in his adopted homeland of Canada.

We've heard the arguments Canada was a minor player in the drama that ensnared Arar. The real villains were the Americans who packed him on to the plane, or the Syrians who tortured him into making a false confession.

But the fact remains Canadian intelligence helped seal his fate, and Canadian inaction allowed his mistreatment to continue as long as it did.

Arar is a citizen of Canada, just like the other 33 million of us, and as deserving as anyone else of the rights and guarantees of citizenship.

The system, however, failed Arar and he is still paying the price, unable to escape the memories and fears that are seared into his psyche.

Paul Cavalluzzo, the lead lawyer for the public inquiry that probed the Arar affair, summed up this way: "He suffered a year of torture in Syria. He suffered when he came back by Canadian officials leaking confidential information on him, which destroyed his reputation. And you can't quantify that."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Arar: "I sincerely hope that these words and actions will assist you and your family in your efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives."

May no other Canadian suffer a similar fate again.