Treatment of Muslims and Arabs by RCMP and CSIS raises troubling questions, says Riad Saloojee

Reports about RCMP and CSIS security visitations in the Canadian Muslim and Arab community have been circulating since Sept. 11, 2001. In many of these instances - some documented, some not - individuals who were visited by security officials complained they had been harassed or intimidated. Documenting this information has been difficult. People are afraid to identify themselves, they are concerned about reprisal and many hail from countries where reporting on abuse of power is a no-no. Even in Canada, experts in anti-discrimination advocacy recognize that only a small fraction of such activity is documented. Imagine then, the reticence about reporting when - whether correct or not - an individual ran the risk of being "linked" to terrorism in the public eye. The stigma of being labelled a terrorist packs a punch akin to being called a pedophile or serial killer. Not everyone has the guts and grit of Maher Arar to defend his or her rights.That a community's experience with law officials, if undocumented, takes on as much veracity as an urban myth. Without documentation, real experiences are consigned to the proverbial memory hole.

In an attempt to document these unheard narratives, the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) conducted a national survey on the issue. (The entire survey is posted at [link] )

Of the 467 respondents, 8 per cent, or 37 individuals, were questioned by security officials. While the number might appear low, consider that if 8 per cent of Canada's Muslim population of 580,000 were questioned, that would amount to 46,400 visitations.

Bear in mind, as well, that of those that were contacted, 62 per cent indicated that they never reported the incident to any organization.

The real value of the survey, however, is the narratives of those who were contacted and what those narratives reveal about those contacted and the tactics employed.

Those visited by security officials are disproportionately young Arab males. Fifty-four per cent of those contacted by security officials are Arab, yet only 35 per cent of the total sample is Arab.

Nearly half of respondents reported feeling fearful, anxious or nervous about the visitation, while 24 per cent indicated feeling harassed and discriminated against; 89 per cent of those contacted agreed to meet with security officials.

Troubling tactics included security officials actively discouraging individuals from calling either a lawyer or requesting third party representation when individuals asked for such representation; aggressive and threatening behaviour when individuals were reluctant to meet with them; and using threats related to the anti-terrorism act to force individuals to submit to an interview.

In addition, the narratives document instances of officials visiting individuals at work and speaking to their superiors or while the individuals are attending to clients; intrusive and irrelevant questioning about, for example, an individual's loyalty to Canada, their observance of their faith and political issues such as the war in Iraq; improper and inaccurate documentation about the contact information of agents; and soliciting people through intimidation to become informants.

In one case, officials visited and interviewed a minor and asked him not to tell his parents.

The effect of such treatment is traumatizing for those visited and for the Canadian Muslim community as a whole. The overall consequence is one of alienation, loss of confidence in our security agencies and civic cynicism.

Yet, this need not be the only consequence. In providing a window into the tactics that are currently employed, the results of the survey will hopefully shake us out of our complacency and serve as an impetus for corrective action.

Dialogue on this issue is overdue.

Copies of the survey have been sent to both the RCMP and CSIS leadership as well as their respective oversight bodies. Copies have also been sent to both Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Anne Mclellan.

Both ministers need to work closely with Canadian Muslims and Arabs.

The findings of the report must be discussed openly and, at the very least, an independent investigation should be launched to thoroughly examine this issue.

Muslims and Arabs are not Canadians-of-convenience. They are citizens and equal partners in making Canada safe and secure.

Riad Saloojee is executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Canada based in Ottawa.

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