Posted on 12/06/2006 1:44:30 PM PST by Clive
OTTAWA — Embattled RCMP head Giuliano Zaccardelli has submitted his resignation, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today in question period.
“Today Commissioner Zaccardelli submitted his resignation to me and I have accepted it,” Harper told the House of Commons. “The commissioner indicated to me that it would be in the best interest of the RCMP to have new leadership as this great organization faces the challenges of the future.”
Harper made the announcement after Liberal Leader Stephane Dion asked the prime minister when he knew about the contradictory testimony Zaccardelli provided to a parliamentary committee about the Maher Arar case.
“I’d like to thank the commissioner for his long and dedicated service to the country,” Harper said.
On Tuesday in question period Harper indicated such an announcement could be imminent.
“This government is concerned with his testimony today and we will study his testimony,” Harper responded Tuesday when asked how he could still have trust in Zaccardelli.
The prime minister said he was “surprised” by Zaccardelli’s change of story about what he knew and when regarding the Arar case, but he resisted demands to fire the commissioner immediately.
“This government will examine the facts and will respond in a manner that is objective, professional, and dispassionate and will be done with full regard to due process,” Harper said.
The controversy erupted when Zaccaredelli first appeared before the public safety and national security committee on Sept. 28 where he testified he first learned of RCMP mistakes some time after Arar — a Canadian Citizen who was deported to Syria by the United States in 2002 — was imprisoned.
Zaccardelli testified he knew the RCMP was trying to correct the record with their U.S. counterparts while Arar was being detained in Syria.
But at a speech on Monday and at his second appearance at the committee Tuesday, Zaccardelli told a different version of events.
He told MPs he knew Arar was a “person of interest” but did not learn the RCMP had passed inaccurate information to U.S. authorities until much later, when he read Justice O’Connor’s report earlier this year.
Zaccardelli said his senior officers were not aware Arar had been mislabelled or that false information had been passed on to the U.S. authorities and therefore there’s no way he could have known because his senior officers are responsible for briefing him on such matters.
Throughout his testimony, Zaccardelli repeated he only learned the full scope of how the RCMP mishandled the Arar case when he read the inquiry report.
Zaccardelli explained the confusion about his earlier testimony by saying he was rushed to appear before the committee and inaccuracies may have arisen from his answers because he did not have sufficient time to prepare for his appearance.
He wanted to appear again before the committee Tuesday to “set the record straight,” Zaccardelli said.
Zaccardelli was defiant while questioned by MPs for nearly two hours. He shrugged off calls for his resignation, saying he never purposely withheld information or misrepresented facts.
“If I had been guilty of such actions, no one would have to ask for my resignation Mr. Chairman. The facts of the matter are however, that due to circumstances I have described we were unaware of some important information until the completion of Justice O’Connor’s inquiry this year. My colleagues and I deeply regret that mistakes were made but it is important to recognize that at all times we acted in good faith,” Zaccardelli said Tuesday.
After announcing Zaccardelli’s resignation, the government released a statement saying an acting commissioner will be named shortly.
Liberal MP Mark Holland, who Tuesday accused the commissioner of perjury, said the matter is not over just because Zaccardelli gave up his job.
“I think the government very badly wants to consider the matter closed and just say ‘we’re doing the recommendations, the commissioner has resigned, it’s the end of the issue.’ It is not the end of the issue. There is a lot more work yet to be done here and they do a terrific disservice to Maher Arar and to the Canadian people if they stop here,” Holland told reporters after question period.
New Democratic Leader Jack Layton said Zaccardelli’s resignation is an important “starting point” and that whoever takes over must work hard to rebuild Canadians’ confidence in the RCMP.
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe agreed that Zaccardelli’s resignation does not mean an end to the ordeal.
“We still have questions to ask and we’ll ask those questions,” he said.
CanWest News Service
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