OTTAWA -- Mohamed Harkat, an Ottawa man jailed for nearly three years on suspicion of terrorist ties, is headed for the Supreme Court of Canada in an effort to stave off deportation. Lawyer Paul Copeland said yesterday that the high court will be his next stop after the Federal Court of Appeal took only 90 minutes to reject a constitutional challenge by his client. At issue is a security certificate filed by the government against Mr. Harkat alleging he has links to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, and should be sent back to his native Algeria. Under the controversial legal process that governs such certificates, defence lawyers have not been allowed to see the detailed intelligence the federal government has gathered to support its claims. Advertisements Nor have they been able to cross-examine officials of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or others who provided information. Instead, a judge of the trial division of Federal Court reviewed the evidence in Mr. Harkat's case in private, and concluded earlier this year that there were credible grounds to consider Mr. Harkat a threat to national security.

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