Canada Today

A review of recent eventsJanuary 14, 2008

Maher Arar

• Born in Syria, but moved to Canada when he was 17 and lived in Ottawa

• He had a casual link with a man named Abdullah Almalki

• CSIS investigations on Almalki led to them investigating Arar

• September 2002 – Arar was flying home to Canada from Tunisia when his plane made a stop at New York

• US authorities detain him for 2 weeks, interogating Arar based on evidence provided by the RCMP

• In a practice called ‘rendition’ Arar is sent to Syria where he is tortured for over a year

• Abdullah Almalki was also arrested by Syria and tortured

• Eventually, the Syrians release Arar who returns to Canada

• He has since been cleared by Canada of any terrorist involved and has received an apology and compensation

• The US still will not allow Arar into their country

Sponsorship Scandal

• After the narrow win in the 1995 Referedum, the Federal Liberal government started an advertising/sponsorship campaign in Quebec to promote Canada

• Ran from 1996 to 2004• sponsorship money awarded to ad firms in return

for little or no work, which firms maintained Liberal organizers or fundraisers on their payrolls or donated back part of the money to the Liberal Party.

• Cost Canadians between $100 and $250 million

• In 2004, the scandal gets exposed

• Gomery Inquiry provides details

• Several people arrested and convicted

Election of 2006

• Gomery Inquiry findings lead to the collapse of the Liberal minority government and begins a new election

• Conservatives win 124 seats out of 308, the largest share of any party, and Stephen Harper forms a minority government

• A new election is expected in 2008