Toronto:
In an apparent bid to limit civil damages, Canada had concealed a key report from Indian government on the 1985 Kanishka bombing, which suggested that the plot was "planned and orchestrated" entirely in the country, official documents showed.
The documents, produced by the Federal Department of Justice for the Kanishka bombing inquiry, suggests that former Prime minister Brian Mulroney's office, in 1985 and 1986, tried to conceal a report from the Indian government about the fact that the bombing was plotted entirely in Canada to avoid civil damages.
The report included conclusion of Candian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the Kanishka case, which suggested that the bombing was planned and orchestrated entirely in Canada.
The Aviation Safety Board's (ASB) report prepared for India's Kirpal Commission, which was investigating the bombing, also reflected the conclusion of the probe.
But the ministerial briefing notes that the notes called the ASB report "potentially damaging" and suggested that it should therefore not be given to the Indian government.
The notes released on Friday show that the PMO, specifically Brian Mulroney's senior adviser Fred Doucet, thought that report didn't show Canada in the "best light."