Jack Hooper
Encyclopedia
Jack Hooper is the former deputy director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) who became well known mainly for his role in some of Canada’s most sensitive and controversial spy-service scandals, including CSIS’s involvement in the case of Maher Arar
, a Canadian engineer father of two who was sent to Syria where he was imprisoned without charges and tortured.
Hooper was also involved in the decision making process of sending CSIS officers to Guantanamo Bay's prison to interrogate Omar Khadr
, a Canadian teenager detained in Guantanamo at the age of 15.
Regardless, Canadian laws against involvement in torture or any cruel or degrading treatment of individuals, Hooper maintained that information-sharing with countries known for human rights abuses was imperative for national security.
(RCMP) in 1974. Posted to Burnaby, B.C.. He joined the RCMP Security Service in 1981 and was assigned to various counterintelligence and counter-terrorism desks.
Following the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP
that investigated the RCMP after a number of illegal activities by the RCMP Security Service came to light in the 1970s, the responsibility for national security was removed from the RCMP and assigned to a new civilian agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS), established in 1984.
Hooper transferred from the RCMP to CSIS in 1984, when the intelligence service was created from the ruins of the RCMP security service. The RCMP Security Service had by then been discredited after the revelations of improprieties and scandals exposed by the McDonald Commission.
His transfer came after a camera crew caught him turning a protester upside down and "bouncing his head off the asphalt", during a protest at Simon Fraser University
where the part-time tactical team officer was studying for his Masters Degree in Criminology
.
He retired from the service in 2007 and went to work for Public Mobile, a telecommunications company.
He was replaced with Luc Portelance
, following a long-standing enmity between Hooper and Director Jim Judd
.
After finishing University, he worked on an oil rig
in the Beaufort Sea
.
In 1997, Hooper was tasked to fly to Lima, Peru to bribe Peruvian security agents to protect the Canadian embassy, and also carried out missions in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen during his 22-year career in CSIS.
In 2007, as part of the investigation into government foreknowledge of the torture, it was revealed that Hooper had sent an earlier memo on October 10, 2002 that included the reference "I think the United States would like to get Arar to Jordan where they can have their way with him", which was the first conclusive evidence that CSIS, and not just the RCMP, knew that a Canadian was going to be tortured at the request of the United States.
A year later, Hooper contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
to tell them that it was not in Canada's interests to demand that the United States return Maher Arar.
In May 2006, he raised controversy when he admitted that CSIS was unable to screen more than 90% of immigrant applicants from Pakistan and Afghanistan, which he said "may be inadequate".
One of the expressions he seemed to like had a special reference to "the big dogs" . He used to say: “If you’re going to run with the big dogs, you better learn to piss in the high grass.”
Maher Arar
Richard Proulx (RCMP officer)
List of controversies involving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
(CSIS) who became well known mainly for his role in some of Canada’s most sensitive and controversial spy-service scandals, including CSIS’s involvement in the case of Maher Arar
Maher Arar
Maher Arar is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who resides in Canada. Arar's story is frequently referred to as "extraordinary rendition" but the U.S. government insisted it was a case of deportation.Arar was detained during a layover at John F...
, a Canadian engineer father of two who was sent to Syria where he was imprisoned without charges and tortured.
Hooper was also involved in the decision making process of sending CSIS officers to Guantanamo Bay's prison to interrogate Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr
Omar Ahmed Khadr is a Canadian child soldier and one of the juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He was convicted of five charges under the United States Military Commissions Act of 2009 including murder in violation of the law of war and providing material support for terrorism,...
, a Canadian teenager detained in Guantanamo at the age of 15.
Regardless, Canadian laws against involvement in torture or any cruel or degrading treatment of individuals, Hooper maintained that information-sharing with countries known for human rights abuses was imperative for national security.
Career
Hooper began his career in the Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) in 1974. Posted to Burnaby, B.C.. He joined the RCMP Security Service in 1981 and was assigned to various counterintelligence and counter-terrorism desks.
Following the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP, better known as the McDonald Commission, was a Royal Commission called by the Canadian government of Pierre Trudeau to investigate the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after a number of illegal activities by the RCMP Security Service...
that investigated the RCMP after a number of illegal activities by the RCMP Security Service came to light in the 1970s, the responsibility for national security was removed from the RCMP and assigned to a new civilian agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
(CSIS), established in 1984.
Hooper transferred from the RCMP to CSIS in 1984, when the intelligence service was created from the ruins of the RCMP security service. The RCMP Security Service had by then been discredited after the revelations of improprieties and scandals exposed by the McDonald Commission.
His transfer came after a camera crew caught him turning a protester upside down and "bouncing his head off the asphalt", during a protest at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
where the part-time tactical team officer was studying for his Masters Degree in Criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
.
He retired from the service in 2007 and went to work for Public Mobile, a telecommunications company.
He was replaced with Luc Portelance
Luc Portelance
Luc Portelance is the current President of the Canada Border Services Agency, previously served as the Executive Vice-President of CBSA and Deputy Director of Operations for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from 2007-2009, replacing Jack Hooper, who did not get along with Director Jim...
, following a long-standing enmity between Hooper and Director Jim Judd
Jim Judd
James "Jim" Judd is a retired Canadian diplomat and senior civil servant. He served as the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service . He was appointed to the position by Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin on November 29, 2004 and retired from the position on June 27, 2009, before the...
.
After finishing University, he worked on an oil rig
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
in the Beaufort Sea
Beaufort Sea
The Beaufort Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort...
.
In 1997, Hooper was tasked to fly to Lima, Peru to bribe Peruvian security agents to protect the Canadian embassy, and also carried out missions in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen during his 22-year career in CSIS.
In 2007, as part of the investigation into government foreknowledge of the torture, it was revealed that Hooper had sent an earlier memo on October 10, 2002 that included the reference "I think the United States would like to get Arar to Jordan where they can have their way with him", which was the first conclusive evidence that CSIS, and not just the RCMP, knew that a Canadian was going to be tortured at the request of the United States.
A year later, Hooper contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade , more commonly known as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, is a department in the Government of Canada which has responsibility for foreign policy and diplomacy, as well as import/export and international trade policies.On June...
to tell them that it was not in Canada's interests to demand that the United States return Maher Arar.
In May 2006, he raised controversy when he admitted that CSIS was unable to screen more than 90% of immigrant applicants from Pakistan and Afghanistan, which he said "may be inadequate".
Death
He died on November 12, 2010, of a heart attack. He was 57.One of the expressions he seemed to like had a special reference to "the big dogs" . He used to say: “If you’re going to run with the big dogs, you better learn to piss in the high grass.”
See also
Project O CanadaProject O Canada
Founded in 2001, Project O Canada was a Toronto-based anti-terrorism investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Created in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, subdivisions of the project named A-O Canada and C-O Canada were based in Ottawa and Montreal, RCMP Divisions A and C...
Maher Arar
Maher Arar
Maher Arar is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who resides in Canada. Arar's story is frequently referred to as "extraordinary rendition" but the U.S. government insisted it was a case of deportation.Arar was detained during a layover at John F...
Richard Proulx (RCMP officer)
Richard Proulx (RCMP officer)
Richard Proulx, is a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner. He was the head of national security investigations at RCMP headquarters in 2003 during the "Arar Affair".- Role in the Maher Arar case :...
List of controversies involving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police