i was able to find some more. according to this article the reason behind the whole debacle is:

"Interrogés, les services canadiens des frontières ont refusé de commenter l'affaire, affirmant avoir agi dans le cadre de leurs procédures réglementaires, permettant notamment d'arrêter des étrangers si un doute pèse sur leur identité."

the canadians said they acted appropriately since they are allowed to arrest foreigners if there is any doubt about their identity.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/international...du-canada-.php

i guess that explains the arrest and so on but it's still some pretty strong medicine. it seems to me that there are few situations where one could have absolutely no doubt about a foreigners identity.

btw, it's not clear if the guy is still in canada or not.

al