A Montreal man who may have links to terror groups tied to al Qaeda was arrested Wednesday by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service using a rarely used security certificate.

The man, Adil Charkaoui, 30, is of Moroccan origin. Montreal's La Presse reported he was arrested on a security certificate that declares him a threat to Canada because of his membership with a known terrorist group. It was signed by Solicitor-General Wayne Easter and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre.

The paper reported police had been watching him for 10 days prior to his arrest, which authorities say is not related to recent terror strikes in Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

Police have linked him to al Qaeda members active in Montreal in the late 1990s. One of his alleged associates is Ahmed Ressam, who was convicted of bringing bomb parts into Canada after being arrested at the Canada-U.S. border in 1999 when bomb materials in his car.

The man is also thought to have attended al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.

The security certificate requires that the government release a summary of their case against the man within seven days. Detailed intelligence information can only be seen by a judge.

If the government's case is deemed reasonable, the man would be deported to Morocco.

While the use of the security certificate is rare, it is already being used in at least two cases, including that of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, a native of Germany. Only 20 or so such certificates have been issued in the past 10 years. They act as sort of a "fast track" to get people out of the country quickly.

The problem, say human rights activists, is that people accused have no right to see the evidence against them -- neither does their lawyer.

The government also used it to detain Algerian native Mohamed Harkat. CSIS claims he is an Islamic extremist who supports Afghan, Pakistani and Chechen rebels. He was arrested last December and has been in an immigration detention centre ever since.

The man's wife and children are believed to be living in the Montreal area.