The government has issued its terms of reference for the Maher Arar inquiry, granting Justice Dennis O'Connor broad authority to probe the actions of Canadian officials allegedly involved with Arar's deportation and detention in a Syrian prison.

Justice O'Connor, appointed commissioner of the probe last week, is being granted powers under the Public Inquiries Act that allow him to investigate Arar's detention in the United States, his deportation to Syria via Jordan, his imprisonment in Syria and his eventual return to Canada.

Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan told reporters in Ottawa there are virtually no limits on who the justice can call to testify.

"He will decide who he thinks may have relevant evidence to help him in his fact-finding investigation and he has all the powers under the public inquiries act to make sure that those people are brought before him."

The terms also call on the commissioner to investigate "any other circumstance directly related to Mr. Arar that Justice O'Connor considers relevant to fulfilling this mandate."

Then when he's done, O'Connor is to present government with his recommendations for the creation of an independent, arm's-length review mechanism for the RCMP's activities with respect to national security.

"They are recommendations that's what they are," McLellan told reporters in Ottawa when asked whether the recommendations will be binding.

"But it's obvious he's going to do a very thorough review... and I should think that we will take them very, very seriously."

Reporters also questioned the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness why the guidelines call for a private "in camera" consultation process.

"It is a given that Mr. Justice O'Connor is going to be dealing with sensitive information and therefore what we want to do is ensure the right balance is struck," McLellan replied.

After hearing all the information, McLellan explained O'Connor "will make a determination around that which he thinks can or should be made public."

That means when disclosure could conflict with international relations, national defence or security, the public may be kept in the dark.

"Our goal is to have as much of the fact finding made public as possible, but we have to act in the public interest."

There is still no official start date for the inquiry, she said, adding that Justice O'Connor is expected to begin his work "as soon as he wants it to start."

Since Arar returned to Canada after spending ten months in a Syrian prison, he has insisted he was deported with the knowledge of Canadian officials.

The 33-year-old father and his supporters had consistently demanded the government launch a probe to uncover security officials' alleged part in his ordeal.

With her announcement Thursday, McLellan laid out the guidelines for the inquiry, officially called the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar.

There are already two other ongoing inquiries -- one by the Security Intelligence Review Committee and another by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen with dual citizenship was detained last September as he travelled through New York on a return journey from Tunisia.

On Oct. 8, he was flown to Jordan and then transported to Syria, where he says he spent close to a year in solitary confinement.

Maintaining his innocence, Arar's lawyers have filed suit top U.S. officials alleging they knew he would be tortured when they deported him to Syria. They have also filed multimillion-dollar lawsuits against Syria and Jordan.