Arthur Porter on political 'friends' and life in Panama prison
Accused in Montreal hospital fraud, Porter speaks to CBC News from Panama prison
On why he was appointed to SIRC
He admits he was the right demographic — a man of colour, international and well-educated — but it was also a political appointment, because he was a staunch Conservative who not only gave to the party but helped with fund raising.
On not disclosing his ambassadorship to Sierra Leone while acting as Canada’s spy watchdog
"I could be faulted" for not telling Prime Minister Stephen Harper of his ambassador-at-large status with his home country. "But I think that everybody who knew me or read about me, knew that I did not keep my life a secret."
On how former friends Stephen Harper and Quebec Premier Pierre Couillard now distance themselves
"People have to do what they think is politically right or what their advisers tell them. I am not a fair-weather friend.”
On staying in a Panamanian jail fighting extradition to Canada
"I think, frankly, that it is patently unfair,” says Porter, adding he’s been afforded no presumption of innocence. "I have been thrown away, into this prison. Sometimes I have water, sometimes I don’t. Medical care — if I wasn’t a doctor, maybe I wouldn’t be here.” (He has been granted permission to go to a hospital, but he hasn’t been allowed. He questions whether Panamanian or Canadian authorities purposely are thwarting access to medical care.)
On why he doesn’t return to Canada to fight for his reputation?
"Because I am not sure exactly what would happen when I went back to Montreal, and whether I’d be hung out to dry as a scapegoat for this. Whether there are things that involve national security that would become an issue. Whether I would get a fair trial. If you’d read the media over the period of time, I was done. Cooked."