OTTAWA — Federal Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan will stand in for the federal justice minister in the Maher Arar inquiry, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced Tuesday.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler removed himself from the Arar file in mid-January because he had given Arar and his family free legal advice before becoming minister.

Regan, the son of former Nova Scotia premier Gerry Regan, is also a lawyer.

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian, was accused by the United States in September 2002 of being a terrorist. He was detained during a stopover in New York and deported to Syria, where he says he was tortured for more than a year.

Regan, who represents Halifax West, will "act as minister of justice and attorney general of Canada in all matters relating to Maher Arar," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Last week, Martin announced a public inquiry into the Arar case.

NDP MP Alexa McDonough said she hopes Regan will give the file the attention it deserves, considering the complexities of his fisheries portfolio.

The process has to be transparent, thorough and just, she said.

"What I'd be looking to hear from Geoff Regan is that this is indeed what will happen. It's a horror story of somebody having 374 days of his life stolen from him."