Canada is moving closer to deporting terror suspect Mohamed Harkat after federal officials received diplomatic assurances that he won't be tortured in his native Algeria, his lawyer revealed yesterday. A draft memo received by Mr. Harkat's legal team this week recommends the Ottawa man be deported, lawyer Paul Copeland said yesterday. "It's the next step in the process," he said, adding he would argue against such a deportation order.The memo, from Louis Dumas, manager of security review at the Canadian Border Services Agency, is addressed to an unnamed minister's delegate from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The recommendation to deport Mr. Harkat is based in part on the fact that Algerian officials have said Mr. Harkat wouldn't face torture in his native country, according to Mr. Copeland.

Mr. Harkat's lawyers received the memo as they started attempts in Federal Court to have him released on bail pending a constitutional appeal that is likely headed to the Supreme Court.

But Mr. Copeland argued that Mr. Harkat is still in danger if sent to Algeria, saying there have been problems with diplomatic assurances, and outlining Algeria's history of civil war and violence and dubious human rights record.

He also referred to expert testimony that Mr. Harkat would likely be tortured if he returned to the country, particularly because of a Federal Court ruling that branded him a terrorist.

Mr. Harkat's legal team was given 15 days to respond to the draft, but will ask for an extension.

Mr. Copeland said the draft memo came in response to submissions he made in April, after Judge Eleanor Dawson upheld government assertions that Mr. Harkat is a terrorist.

Judge Dawson ruled that Mr. Harkat lied in Federal Court when he testified he had no connection to al-Qaeda. Her decision was based largely on secret evidence not heard by Mr. Harkat and his lawyers.

Mr. Copeland said he had waited six months for a response from the Canadian Border Services Agency on the issue of the deportation, and that news of the bail hearing "probably sped them up somewhat."

"The fact that they've actually finally taken one small step in that direction means that it isn't quite that far in the future when his removal might occur," he said. Lawyers have indicated Mr. Harkat is unlikely to be released on bail if the government is planning to deport him soon.

Still, Mr. Copeland doubted that Mr. Harkat would be deported while legal proceedings are ongoing. He said he would likely seek assurances that Mr. Harkat will remain in the country as proceedings continue.

Mr. Harkat was jailed in December 2002 after a national security certificate was signed by two federal ministers who believed him to be a terrorist threat, based on information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

He has been under a deportation order since Judge Dawson's ruling in March. A bail hearing started Monday.

The Federal Court also heard yesterday from Dr. Colin Cameron, a psychiatrist who visited Mr. Harkat last month at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. Dr. Cameron, who diagnosed Mr. Harkat with depression and post traumatic stress disorder, said he was told about nightmares, sleep terrors and visions of having fingernails pulled out.

"His ultimate fear is for his life, his safety," said Dr. Cameron, the medical director of the trauma disorders program at the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre. Dr. Cameron, who also works with Canadian soldiers, said Mr. Harkat's ongoing trauma is caused mainly by fears of being deported.

Staying in jail is "certainly detrimental," and plays another role in Mr. Harkat's mental state, Dr. Cameron said, adding that it would be much easier to "get on top" of some of the symptoms outside of jail, with the support of loved ones. Anti-depressant medication and therapy could also help, he said. Dr. Cameron added that simply leaving jail is not a cure-all.

Dr. Cameron said Mr. Harkat understood he'd face strict restrictions if allowed to leave jail, and said he was convinced that Mr. Harkat did not want to jeopardize his freedom or risk deportation. Mr. Harkat would face a slew of bail conditions, possibly including a curfew, limits on the people with whom he has contact, supervision when outside his home, no Internet or cellphone access, a phone tap and electronic monitoring.

The bail hearing resumes next week.

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