Refugee set on life in Canada fights lingering suspicions from 9/11-era arrest

OTTAWA – A Toronto-area refugee says his efforts to build a new life in Canada are being stymied by the federal government’s lingering — but long discredited — suspicions about his past.

In a rare interview, Hassan Almrei says his arrest 13 years ago on a national security certificate continues to haunt him, even though the certificate was tossed out more than four years ago.

Almrei, 40, has long sought permanent resident status, and he hopes to become a Canadian citizen.

But his application is stuck in the system.

Almrei says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has asked two friends about him within the last year or so.

In late 2009, a Federal Court judge said there were reasonable grounds to believe Almrei was a security danger when detained just after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, but there’s no longer any reason to cling to that belief.

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