RCMP and its internationally respected commissioner Opinion editorial by INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble

The case of Maher Arar raises a number of questions about the sharing of information among police agencies across national boundaries. Canada is experiencing a controversy surrounding an admitted mistake by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the handling of a terrorism-related investigation.

As the Secretary General of INTERPOL who has travelled to over 100 countries since 2000, I have witnessed numerous investigations of terrorist activities in a number of the Organization’s 186 member countries. I feel an obligation to comment on the controversy surrounding the RCMP’s handling of the Arar case because I believe that, under Commissioner Zaccardelli’s leadership, the RCMP have made outstanding contributions to the safety and security of not only Canadians but of citizens the world over.

I will not speak specifically of the Arar case, nor will I speak of the domestic politics surrounding the matter in Canada. However, I will speak to my experience with the international battle against terrorism and my experience with the RCMP and Commissioner Zaccardelli in particular.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, and in the spirit of that lesson, police and intelligence organizations everywhere have tried to share more and more information and intelligence at the earliest possible moment. We know that the failure to share information across borders puts citizens in grave danger and can lead to the loss of life at a horrific scale. In short, failing to share information with close allies and international partners is simply unacceptable in the post-September 11 world.

What if the Arar case had turned out differently and he had been a terrorist? And, what if thousands of innocent lives had been lost simply because the RCMP had not shared the information? It is not popular to ask such questions in Canada at this time, but these questions must be asked if Canadians are to remain safe.

The real challenge is to do what the police do each and every day -- to decide in realtime whether and how to investigate someone, and whether and how to share information about that investigation with other police agencies nationally and internationally. There is no simple set of rules to provide clear answers. When the clock’s ticking, and lives hang in the balance, judgments must be made, and actions taken.

The way to handle such situations is complex and not without the risk of committing mistakes, but there are approaches that reduce the likelihood of mistakes. In my experience, the RCMP and Commissioner Zaccardelli have been working closely with international law enforcement, including INTERPOL, for many years to do exactly that.

In doing so, they have made significant contributions toward keeping people safe. I need not remind Canadians that, in June of this year, Canadian police and intelligence put into practice the kind of integrated approach that Commissioner Zaccardelli has been advocating and developing for years. Specifically, the RCMP, working with the CSIS and provincial and local police, thwarted a terrorist plot that could have killed hundreds or even thousands of people.

Following a six-month investigation, the RCMP conducted a raid and arrested 17 individuals who had allegedly acquired an electronic detonation device and three tons of ammonium-nitrate fertilizer (which is used to make bombs) several times the amount used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. The RCMP has been recognized worldwide for the extraordinary way in which this investigation was conducted.

There is no way to quantify how many lives are saved as a result of the forward thinking and proactive police work conducted by effective police leaders, such as Commissioner Zaccardelli. I can say definitively that, based on his work with INTERPOL alone, he has helped to make Canada and the rest of the world a safer place.

Back in March 2005, when Canada was being criticized by the US for being a 'superhighway for terrorists,' I spoke out on behalf of Canada. I went on the record in saying that with all due respect to the US, my country sometimes gets it half right.

Canada is super, but it’s not a highway for terrorists to get to the US. For that we have the RCMP under Commissioner Zaccardelli as well as the CSIS and other Canadian police agencies to thank.

I believed in Canada then, just as I believe in Canada’s ability now to treat one of the finest police agencies and one of the finest police commissioners in the world with the kind of even-handed and fair-minded justice for which Canadians are rightfully known.