Flight from Halifax to Montreal passed over Maine
 
CATHERINE SOLYOM, The Gazette, June 26, 2009

Adil Charkaoui thought he had successfully made the switch from suspected terrorist to public speaker - until U.S. authorities ordered his plane to turn around and kick him off.

Charkaoui, a Moroccan-born father of three, was on his way home to Montreal June 3 from Fredericton, the second stop on his cross-country speaking tour, with two escorts from the Canada Border Services Agency.

The subject of a security certificate since 2003, it is the first time Charkaoui has been able to travel freely outside of Montreal, to denounce the process that kept him in prison for two years and under strict surveillance for another four years, without knowing the evidence against him.

In February, a Federal Court judge removed most of the conditions imposed on him, including that he be escorted at all times outside his home by a family member. If in 2003 he fit the profile of an Al-Qa'ida sleeper agent, the judge said, he doesn't anymore - he is too well-known.

But in mid-air, as the Air Canada plane flew over northern Maine on its way to Montreal, the lingering consequences of his security status came crashing down.

"I reacted the same way as all the other passengers," Charkaoui said yesterday. "With the Air France tragedy (June 1) still fresh in our minds, we all panicked. We were just 30 minutes away from Montreal but had to return. Then without any explanation they asked me to get off the plane."

Even the border agents were surprised, he said, as was Air Canada.

Reached in Vancouver, where he is to tell his story to another packed room today, Charkaoui said the ordeal, and having to drive 800 kilometres to Montreal, has once again gained him unwanted exposure.

He believes someone called the U.S. authorities to raise the alarm and force him to cancel the rest of his speaking tour. He hadn't had any problems flying to the Maritimes, nor has he had any since, flying across the country unescorted, with his GPS bracelet around his ankle.

"Isn't it irresponsible? Who called the Americans to tell them of this mini-scandal, and put everyone's security at risk?" he asked. "This is not a game. They're playing with my life and with national security."

The CBSA said due to privacy considerations it couldn't confirm or deny what happened in-flight, only that two agents were escorting Charkaoui "to monitor respect of the terms and conditions imposed by the Federal Court."

Charkaoui has no plans to extend his tour into the United States.

The ordeal has not tarnished Charkaoui's experience as a freer man, however.

"From a small prison cell in 2003 to a Boeing, it's a big step for me."