A powerful U.S. Democrat says Maher Arar has the right to know why he is still on an American watch list and barred from entering the United States.

Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, the incoming chair of a Senate judiciary committee, told the Toronto Star newspaper that he plans on summoning U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before American legislators to demand answers.

Canadian authorities have taken responsibility for their part in Arar's 2002 rendition to Syria, Leahy said, adding that it's now the Bush administration's turn to redress the wrong.

"The Canadian government has now documented that the wrong thing was done to the wrong man," Leahy told the Star in an interview.

"It is time for the (Bush) administration to do what it can to redress this wrong, instead of perpetuating it."

Leahy said Gonzales should explain the entire U.S. policy of rendition and he's sick of the lack of answers shrouded in security concerns or promises to get back to him.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins said last week that Arar remained on an American "no-fly" list -- which prevents Arar from travelling in the United States or even flying over U.S. airspace -- but neither Wilkins nor the U.S. State Department would outline the reasons for the ban.

Arar is entitled to know what allegations U.S. authorities are making against him, Leahy said .

"It's not just this individual case," he said, "but what does this say when someone's plane stops here, they have citizenship on a neighbouring country and we ship them back to Syria . . .

"You know they are going to be tortured . . . This is beneath our country. And it does absolutely nothing to make us more secure and it is a gross human rights violation . . .

"One thing that can be done is our country should sit down with yours and say: How did we all screw up here?''

A public inquiry led by Justice Dennis O'Connor cleared Arar's name in a report released this fall.

Arar's Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman told the Star he was "very encouraged" by Leahy's pledge.

"This moves the matter to the next level and we're quite pleased with that," he said.

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian engineer, was arrested by U.S. officials while he was transiting through a New York airport in 2002. Canadian police had provided faulty information to them suggesting Arar had ties to Al Qaeda. He was eventually deported to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured.

Arar's name was cleared in the fall by a public inquiry led by Justice O'Connor, who said it was unlikely the U.S. relied on any other information but that provided by Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has asked the U.S. government to apologize to Arar, but settled on a promise they would collaborate more fully on any future deportation cases.