Canadian Consular Aid

 "When I arrived at the Beirut airport and when they swiped my passport they told me that there was a problem and I had to come with them.  We went in a small room and soldiers and policemen with guns surrounding me.  They asked me if I had ever been to Algeria and if I had done something wrong in Algeria.  I replied, 'Never'.  Then they told me that we were going somewhere else and they handcuffed me."

"Then they threw me in a truck with a cover.  I was laying on the floor in the back of this truck and the truck was driving so fast my body was moving from one side of the truck to the other side."

"The embassy lied to the Canadian government regarding the jail conditions - they said there were windows, sunlight and fresh air.  I have not seen the sun since I have been detained.  At night there are many flies, we see cockroaches in the cell, toilet and shower.  And then there are these huge spiders, they are grey and the biggest I saw was just as large as my hand."

So, one would like to ask, where was the Government of Canada throughout Henk Tepper's ordeal, and where, particularly, were the services of Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs whose consular function is to aid Canadians abroad at times of emergency situations such as this?  Foreign Affairs was involved, of course, it's just that they assigned someone to give aid and comfort and official assistance to New Brunswick potato farmer, Mr. Tepper, who was clearly not intellectually capable of fulfilling his vital function.

The record seems to speak for itself.  And Mr. Tepper's feeling, given his detainment, torture and subsequent, long-anticipated release, that his very own government did not sufficiently exert itself on his behalf, appears well taken.  He was in custody for 373 days, never charged.  While he was detained in a Lebanese dungeon on an Algerian warrant for 'selling bad potatoes', a huge slice of his life was destroyed.  His farm, in his absence, was not productive, and is under crippling debt, under creditor protection. 

He was unable to see, to talk with, his wife, his children, his extended family, and share with them the normal experiences of a caring family.  This was Mr. Tepper's award for pursuing the export of Canadian agribusiness as an avid producer and exporter; functions that the Government of Canada values highly and spends a great deal of time promoting in the interests of expanding the country's trade and export functions.  The potatoes in question were not from Mr. Tepper's farm, but from Prince Edward Island and Quebec.

An Algerian importer requested that Mr. Tepper look after their export on their behalf after the season for New Brunswick potatoes had concluded.  These potatoes were lab-tested and shipped by boat, 3,800 tonnes of them.  Unfortunately 300 tonnes of the whole were lacking documentation and while in transit, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency informed Mr. Tepper that some of those potatoes were infected with bacterial ring rot.  The potatoes had been sought as seed potatoes by the importer; that small amount that was infected could be safely used for human consumption, but not as seed potatoes.

A mishap.  Mr. Tepper was given some indication by implication only that he was dealing with picky importers.  The Algerian importer with whom he was conducting business said: "In the past, we have received certain amounts of potatoes from New Brunswick, and it gave only surprises, that is to say, problems of qualities, sizes, varieties of potato and shipping time.  The biggest problem with Canada is a problem of size and quality.  We must communicate in advance if you want to ship your potatoes", he was informed by Kaoache Abdelouahab.

As he had done nothing wrong, Mr. Tepper hardly anticipated that he would be arrested, interrogated, imprisoned and forced to anticipate Lebanese justice for an Algerian dispute over potatoes emanating from Quebec.  On his discharge this week, Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs waxed magnanimous: "On behalf of the Government of Canada, I am pleased that Canadian consular officials have helped secure the release of Mr. Henk Tepper."

Certainly, Mr. Tepper, his extended family, his neighbours and the country at large are interested in hearing further from Foreign Affairs just how they managed so expeditiously to effect his release from imprisonment where he had been confined and tortured and despaired - over a period extending over a year of his life - that he would ever be released and allowed to resume his life.