Ending The Farce

"[Should Mohamed Harkat, held to be a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda] not be removed [from Canada, he could conceivably] resume his contacts with members of the Islamic extremist network."
"Mr. Harkat's presence constitutes a real threat to the security of Canada and Canadians, as well as the security of other nations and their citizens."
Anne-Marie Charbonneau, manager, danger assessments section, Canada Border Services Agency

Mohamed Harkat wipes away tears during a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 10, 2012, that marked the 10th anniversary of his arrest and detention on a security certificate. iPolitics/ Matthew Usherwood

This is the expert intelligence of a professional tasked to assess the potential of danger to Canada and Canadians of a man whom Canadian courts have found guilty of terrorist activities and membership in an outlawed, recognized terrorist group whose actions have identified them as jihadist fanatics who threaten the stability of democratic states, and whose atrocities have more than verified that they will stop at nothing to achieve their goals of attacking civilians in their aspirations to global jihad.

That this man who entered Canada claiming refugee status, as an Algerian who lived in Pakistan enabling al-Qaeda mujahadeen move with ease into and out of Pakistan which had given haven to the Afghani Taliban and al-Qaeda -- providing them with a temporary refuge between assaults -- is guilty of that association appears not to be in dispute. It is the fact that he has settled in Canada, despite that he has linked with others associated with al-Qaeda and Islamist terrorism and presents himself as an innocent victim of mistaken identity that grips the hearts of the compassionate.

Among whom is Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations, formerly leader of the socialist New Democratic Party, and the current Prime Minister of Canada's younger brother whose idea of a well-functioning country led by an admirable leader is Cuba, and who recently lobbied a Minister of the Crown in his brother's government to refuse to allow the Canadian legal system to proceed in deporting the Algerian man to his country of origin.

Predictably, his defenders state that he is now unlikely to present as a threat to Canada or Canadians. They appear to be willing to completely discount his former actions and purposes. And they mount a defence of allowing him to remain in Canada that he may become a victim of Algeria's own system of maintaining control over threats to society through the imposition of prison-plus-torture. Despite that diplomatic interaction between Canada and Algeria elicited a promise from authorities that the man would not be subject to torture.

The deportation decision in a case that has wound through a multiplicity of appeals for the past decade and more is expected to be released later in the year. A decision that can still be appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, potentially punted up for a third time to the Supreme Court. The high-profile defenders of this man will continue to see positively their insistence that he be permitted to remain in Canada. A country whose various governments have seen a campaign lasting 14 years unable to deport a man who posed and may still pose as a threat.

Beyond ludicrous. His wife Sophie Harkat states "We just want it to end", and there is a large Canadian chorus repeating that sensibility, from the opposite end of the spectrum.