LIMITS OF SECURITY BLURRED

Interesting story from today's National Post. The better question, however, is how is it possible that a non-resident on a Work Permit, who comes from a country currently in the international spotlight for its pursuit of nuclear weapons, was given an apparently sensitive post. Work Permit holders are not normally pre-screened by CSIS for security concerns, but some applicants for residency are in fact reviewed. Had the applicant been initially pre-screened, probably a Work Permit would not have been issued. Is it time for a policy review as to which organizations, tasks and studies should be considered too sensitive for non-residents coming from countries which are known to engage in espionage, nuclear programs, and so on? Also, some countries routinely engage in industrial espionage and stealing trade secrets, should they be restricted too? Where are the boundaries of national security in this context?This could be an interesting, and overdue policy debate in Canada, which does not distinguish itself for high security procedures.

Former Research Council scientist denies spying for Iran

Judge grants appeal, concludes Ottawa’s evidence is dubious

Stewart Bell,
National Post
Ottawa Citizen

A former National Research Council scientist has been battling the Canadian government over allegations he participated in Iran's controversial weapons program.
Mohammad Jahazi held a high-level post at the NRC's Institute for Aerospace Research but left Canada in 2008 after Ottawa rejected him as an immigrant for security reasons.
Federal Immigration officials told the Iranian scientist they suspected he had taken part in Iran's arms efforts and had supplied information to Tehran on Iranian dissidents in Canada and Europe.
Mr. Jahazi denied the allegations and yesterday Justice Yves de Montigny of the Federal Court of Canada set aside the Immigration department's ruling and sent it back for another determination.
"Our lawyers are reviewing the court's decision carefully. It goes without saying that we're disappointed by the ruling," said Alykhan Velshi, spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
"As ordered, this matter will be considered by another decision-maker in accordance with the Federal Court's decision.
"That said, the government's position before the Federal Court was that Mr. Jahazi was inadmissible to Canada under section 34(1)(f) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as a member of an organization engaged in subversive activities and was associated with groups engaged in terrorist activities and subversion."
The NRC declined comment.
The ruling comes amid growing international concern over Iran's missile and nuclear programs, which have been built largely on science and technology stolen from abroad.
The RCMP arrested an Iranian national in Toronto last year for allegedly attempting to send nuclear-related parts to Iran. A Canadian Customs official said last fall his officers had been seizing a wide range of weapons-related shipments destined for Iran.
Mr. Velshi said the government argued that there were inconsistencies in Mr. Jahazi's account of his past and travel history, and that publicly available documentation linked his Iranian employers with arms sales to terrorists.
See APPEAL on Page A5
But Judge de Montigny wrote in his ruling yesterday that the government's case against Mr. Jahazi had relied on "dubious information found on the Internet and on inconclusive reports from other government agencies."
Mr. Jahazi was born in Iran in 1959 but left in 1977 to study in France. He later studied at McGill University, where he obtained his PhD. His eldest son was born in Canada in 1989.
He returned to Iran in 1990 and worked at Tarbiat Modarres University, while also working part-time at the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology. In 2001, he came back to Canada on a work permit and was employed at McGill and then the NRC.
He applied to immigrate in 2001 but, after being interviewed by Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers, was rejected on security grounds for being a member of an organization engaged in espionage, subversion and terrorism.
The name of that terrorist organization was not publicly named but Immigration officials claimed the university where Mr. Jahazi was employed was under the control of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps. Immigration officials also said the Iranian Research Organization where he worked was implicated in the production of weapons of mass destruction.
The case was based partly on confidential intelligence that even Mr. Jahazi was not permitted to see. CSIS asked Mr. Jahazi during interviews conducted at the Canadian consulate in Buffalo, N.Y., whether he had been approached by the Iranian intelligence service, whether he had any contact with Iranian diplomats and whether he had links to Islamic student associations, and what role he played at Iranian research facilities.
Mr. Jahazi argued he held only a junior position in Iran, that he had never been asked to provide information to Iranian authorities and that he was a specialist in his field and could make an important contribution to Canadian industry.
While the judge allowed Mr. Jahazi's appeal of the immigration ruling, he refused to allow him to return to Canada while the government reviews his case, saying his dispute with Ottawa "does not extend him any right of entry."
National Post