The Maher Arar inquiry has heard that Mounties have shared information about people who have done nothing wrong with U.S. police and security agencies.

The comments come from Deputy RCMP Commissioner Garry Loeppky, who is testifying before a federal inquiry investigating what role Canadian officials played in Arar's detention and deportation to Syria.

Inquiry lawyer Paul Cavalluzzo presented Loeppky with a hypothetical situation in which John Smith was the subject of a security investigation.

Cavalluzzo asked Loeppky that if Jim Jones was seen meeting with Smith, or heard speaking with him on the phone, would Jones become part of the investigation, even if he had done nothing wrong.

Loeppky said yes. He also said if further investigation showed that Jones was not linked to Smith's wrongdoing, his information would continue to be part of the file of information.

Cavalluzzo then asked Loeppky if the Mounties would share information about Jones if the U.S. asked.

Loeppky again said yes. However, he said he had never heard of "extraordinary rendition" at the time of Arar's detention. It is the controversial American practice of sending suspected terrorists for questioning in foreign countries where torture is used.

Arar, a 34-year-old Ottawa engineer, was taken into U.S. custody in September 2002 during a stopover in New York on his way home from a family vacation in Tunisia.

He was interrogated about alleged links to the al Qaeda terrorist network. Arar was sent to Jordan a few weeks later, and then transferred to a prison in his birthplace Syria.

Arar says he was beaten and tortured during his 10 months in Syria, and forced to give a false confession about alleged links to al Qaeda.

He was released without explanation and returned to Canada last fall.

Arar and his lawyers accuse Canadian authorities of shoddy intelligence work, racial profiling and reliance on statements given under torture.

The attorney general's office, representing the federal government, says Canadian officials acted appropriately.

The inquiry resumes July 6.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper may be called to testify. He has said he had heard mixed messages, "not just in the House of Commons, but to us privately, by authorities in this country, that had suggested that the deportation of Mr. Arar was appropriate."

Cavalluzzo said Harper's comments about are cause for concern. He said Harper would be asked to testify if he can shed light on the case.

Ward Elcock, the former chief of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, testified last week. He told the inquiry that he knew about the controversial American practice of sending suspected terrorists for questioning in foreign countries.

But it was unclear whether he had independent knowledge, or got it from newspaper reports.

He also cited national security to avoid saying whether CSIS trades information with Syria.