OTTAWA - The RCMP paid a communications consultant almost $25,000 in taxpayers' money to help Giuliano Zaccardelli prepare for parliamentary hearings that ultimately led to the commissioner's resignation.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the Mounties hired Ottawa firm McLoughlin Media at a cost of more than $400 an hour in advance of Zaccardelli's ill-fated autumn testimony on the Arar inquiry report.
The company trains executives and politicians to communicate in media interviews, presentations and crises.
"We just wanted to ensure that he was prepared fully for his appearance," said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bernie Corrigan.
McLoughlin's services were needed because the force's communication services directorate lacks expertise in dealing with parliamentary committees, Corrigan added.
Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian, was detained in New York in September 2002 and deported soon after by American authorities, winding up in a Damascus prison cell. Under torture he gave false confessions to Syrian military intelligence officers about involvement with al-Qaida.
After spending more than two years looking into the case, Justice Dennis O'Connor concluded in a hefty Sept. 18 report that erroneous information the RCMP passed to the United States - painting Arar as an Islamic extremist - very likely led to the Ottawa engineer's deportation.
The Mounties remained silent on the damning report until 10 days later when Zaccardelli indicated in testimony to the Commons public safety committee he knew of the mistake shortly after Arar was sent to Syria.
But in December, Zaccardelli told the same committee he was wrong in his original explanation - that in fact he didn't know until years later the national police force had incorrectly labelled Arar a terrorist. The government accepted the commissioner's resignation the next day amid questions about his competence.
The $24,645 contract with McLoughlin Media required the firm to provide 36 hours of work in the five days ending with Zaccardelli's first committee appearance on Sept. 28. Another 26 hours were expected from Oct. 6 to 31, says the agreement, which was obtained under the Access to Information Act
Company president Barry McLoughlin worked with Corrigan and his RCMP team of communication specialists - attending several meetings, developing briefing materials, helping Zaccardelli prepare his opening statement, and anticipating questions MPs might ask the commissioner.
Liberal MP Sue Barnes, the party's critic for public safety, questioned the expense.
"Why does the RCMP commissioner need $25,000 in media consultation when the only thing he was asked to do was come before the committee and tell the truth to Canadians?" she said.
"His own department should be able to brief him on the facts. If this was supposed to add clarity to the appearance, I don't think it accomplished that. I think that's self-evident."
McLoughlin Media vice-president Laura Peck cited client confidentiality in refusing to discuss the work for the RCMP.
"We're a private company, and part of what we do is to never talk about the people that we may or may not have worked with. It's inappropriate. It's like being a lawyer or a doctor."
Corrigan declined to comment on Zaccardelli's performance before the committee, or the strategizing that took place before his second appearance: "We prepared him as fully as we could, and as comprehensively as we could. At the end of the day, the answers that he provided the committee are a matter of public record."
The government published a notice Saturday seeking a permanent replacement for Zaccardelli.
Among the qualities sought in a new commissioner is the ability "to act as the spokesperson for the RCMP, often in highly controversial and difficult situations."
"The chosen candidate will be an individual with integrity, judgment, tact, discretion and resilience."
