Mike Cabana

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Superintendent Mike Cabana is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer who is most well-known for his role at the centre of the controversy over the extraordinary rendition of Maher Arar by American security officials.

Arar, while returning to Canada, was arrested by American security officials, while transferring planes at a New York City airport. Arar was held for approximately two weeks by US security officials, denied legal advice, and subjected to intensive interrogation. American security officials were not satisfied with Arar's answers, and quietly "rendered" him to Syria, the country of his birth.

Arar was held for almost a year. It is widely accepted that Syria is a torture state, and that his account of his torture is truthful.

As the controversy over his rendition became more public American officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Attorney General John Ashcroft claimed that American officials rendered Arar to Syria because they were told by Canadian officials that Canada didn't want him back.

This claim was greeted by widespread skepticism in Canada.

Canada has an inquiry into how Arar came to the attention of US security officials, and whether there is any truth to the American claims that Canadian officials directed the Americans to send Arar to Syria.

Cabana has been called to testify before the inquiry several times.

Cabana's account has differed from that of a more senior colleague, Deputy Commissioner Garry Loeppky. Cabana's version is that the RCMP had been directed to cooperate more fully with American security officials, following the terrorist attacks of late 2001, going so far as to drop the assurances they would normally have extracted from the Americans that information provided to them was for background, and would not result in arrest, or harassment. Cabana's more senior colleague's version was that increased cooperation would stop short of requiring the assurances which would protect Canadians who fell into American hands.

Cabana remains unrepentant for his role in supplying American security officials with information on Arar, without securing protective assurances.