'We agree to disagree' with U.S. on Arar: MacKay

Canada and the United States "agree to disagree" on the status of Maher Arar, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said Friday alongside his U.S. counterpart, Condoleezza Rice.

MacKay, Rice and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa spoke at a press conferencein Ottawafollowing a day ofhigh-leveltalks on a range of issues, including trade, securityand flu pandemic response plans.

"We agree to disagree at times," MacKay said. "It's clear Canada and the United States hold a different position on this issue."

MacKay went on to praise the "tremendous unprecedented co-operation" between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in areas of security.

Rice reiterated previous comments on the Arar affair, saying the United States respects Canada's decision onArar, butmakes its own security decisions based on "our own information."

Arar still on U.S. 'no-fly' list

Arar, a Canadian citizen who was born in Syria, was detained in 2002 byU.S. authorities who suspected him of terrorist links and deported him to his homeland, where he was jailed and tortured. Arar's name was later cleared by a Canadian judicial inquiry, which blamed his deportation in part on the RCMP.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to Arar in Januaryand offered him a $10.5-million compensation package for his ordeal.

TheU.S. State Departmenthas said it would keep Arar on its security watch list, even though Ottawa has been pushing for his name to be removed.

MacKay'scomments came on the same day as the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the security certificate system used by the federal government to detain and deport foreign-born terrorist suspects.

The court found that the system, described by thegovernmentas a key tool for safeguarding national security, violatesthe Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

MacKay noted the decision allowed the government a year to examine the decision andre-write the law.

"Clearly we will take the time to do just that," he said, but added the government would remain "vigilant to do what is necessary and protect Canadian citizens."

Talks on trade, organized crime, pandemic

Friday's talks were partof the Security and Prosperity Partnership deal, which was first struck in 2005 with the goalto improvecompetitiveness and public safety between the three countries.

MacKay offered few specifics about the meeting, saying it was about furthering co-operation to make North America a safer place to live and a more prosperous place to work.

Rice said they touched on a wide range of issues, including public health, environmental threats, natural disasters, organized crime, and reserves of clean energy.

Earlier Friday, MacKay said the trilateral talksare an opportunity to discuss problems, such as those involvingnew U.S. passport requirements to enter the country.

Canada has expressed concern that the passport rule — designed to toughen border security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. — would interfere with legitimate travel and commerce.

Harmonizing rules could have prevented the U.S. ban on Canadian beef after the 2003 discovery of mad-cow disease incattle, said Canadian businessman Thomas d'Aquino, who is on a council of business leaders that is expected to deliver a report to the political leaders on Friday.

"If we had identical requirements for safety standards,health standards,then if there were another crisis we would not have a situation that we had, which was very crippling to our industry," d'Aquino said.

The U.S. reopened borders to younger Canadianbeef exports a few months later, with young live cattle allowed acrossbeginning inJuly 2005.

Friday's meeting, while important, is not expected to produce much in the way of final decisions. They're more likely to be made when Harper, U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush and Mexican President Félipe Calderon meet in Canada over the summer.