Top counterterrorism official says Canada has limitations in sharing info on terror suspects

Canada has limitations in sharing terror info

TORONTO — Canada’s top counterterrorism official says Canada has significant limitations in its ability to share information about potential terrorist suspects with other countries.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan made the comment Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press when asked if Canada has ever shared information about potential terror suspects with Yemen, a largely lawless country that is now a key stronghold for al-Qaida. Yemen’s government says the United States should have shared its warnings about the Nigerian suspect in the botched Christmas Day airline attack.

Van Loan says sharing information is a sensitive subject following public inquiries that found that Canadian officials contributed to the torture of Canadians in Syria and Egypt by sharing information — including unfounded accounts of extremist links — with foreign agencies.