Reasonable grounds to declare Harkat security threat: Federal Court

OTTAWA – A judge says there are grounds to believe Algerian-born Mohamed Harkat is a security threat who maintained ties to Osama bin Laden’s terror network after coming to Canada.

Thursday’s Federal Court decision in the long-running case could pave the way for Harkat’s deportation to his native country.

In a separate ruling, Judge Simon Noel upheld the constitutionality of the national security certificate system the government is using to remove Harkat from Canada.

Harkat, a 42-year-old former gas bar attendant and pizza delivery man, was arrested eight years ago on suspicion of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.

Harkat did not offer credible testimony to the court, Noel said in his ruling on the certificate.

"He has surrounded himself in layers of clouds in which he does not let any light come through," Noel wrote.

"At times, his testimony was simply incoherent, implausible if not contradictory."

The federal government had painted Harkat as a calculating terrorist who consistently covered his tracks with lies.

Noel said the government established grounds to believe that, after arriving in Canada, Harkat "continued to be an active member of the (Bin Laden network) and provided support to the network."

"I find that although the danger associated to Mr. Harkat has diminished over time, he still poses a danger to Canada."

Harkat, who lives in Ottawa with wife Sophie, denies any involvement with terrorism.

He says he’s merely a refugee who fled strife-ridden Algeria and worked with an aid agency in Pakistan before his 1995 arrival in Canada using a false Saudi passport.

The case hit numerous snags and delays, including an earlier, successful constitutional challenge that forced the government to revamp the security certificate system – a seldom-used means of removing suspected terrorists and spies.

The government reissued a certificate against Harkat in 2008. He says he will be tortured if returned to his homeland.

Noel weighed evidence heard behind closed doors and in open court before issuing his decision on the certificate’s validity.