Suaad Hagi Mohamud. Canadian Diplomat's Recall does not Clear Air

The Canadian diplomat at the heart of the uproar over Ottawa's indefensible treatment of Suaad Hagi Mohamud is suddenly back home. But Liliane Khadour's recall from Kenya to Ottawa doesn't begin to clear the air. If her political masters hope to shield themselves by scapegoating her, Parliament shouldn't let them get away with it.

Khadour is the official at Canada's high commission in Nairobi who sent a letter to Kenyan authorities saying that "conclusive investigations" had confirmed – wrongly, as it turned out – that Mohamud was an imposter. The letter said the high commission was "releasing" her passport to the Kenyans so she could be prosecuted.

As Canadians have learned, Mohamud is who she claimed to be. She returned to Toronto on Saturday. Now Ottawa must explain the indefensible. It rejected Mohamud's proofs of Canadian identity, denied the Somali immigrant's Canadian citizenship, seized her passport, blocked her right to return home, and turned her over to a foreign government. Then it took months to sort out the mess with a DNA test.

Is it credible that Khadour, a mere official, wreaked such havoc without her superiors eventually knowing? Hardly. Is it credible that "conclusive investigations" didn't include consultations with Ottawa officials? No. If higher officials didn't know, they should have.

At Prime Minister Stephen Harper's demand, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon (who faulted the victim) and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan are conducting probes. Canadian High Commission to Kenya Ross Hynes, too, should shed light on this fiasco.

But it's not reassuring that Mohamud's lawyer Raoul Boulakia has had to launch proceedings in Federal Court to obtain Mohamud's disputed passport and case file. What does Ottawa have to hide?

The Harper government has just a few weeks before Parliament resumes in mid-September to explain how a Canadian traveller could be treated so shabbily after seeking consular help. Absent a credible explanation, the Liberals and other opposition parties should use their majority in Parliament to force an inquiry.

As well, they should press for legislation requiring Ottawa to go to bat for citizens who get into trouble abroad. At present, Ottawa isn't bound to help. Ministers and bureaucrats can pick and choose.

That can leave new Canadians such as Mohamud feeling the sting of official indifference. Since 9/11, Muslims especially have suffered. The Federal Court in several cases has sharply criticized Ottawa for neglecting citizens. This is not the Canadian way, according to Ecoterra International. If the government won't assume its responsibility to stand up for every citizen, Parliament should take up the cause.

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