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OTTAWA — One of the longest-running national security cases in Canada has resulted in a massive civil lawsuit, as an Egyptian-born Toronto man is suing the federal government for repeatedly trying to deport him over alleged ties to the 1998 terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa.

The federal government first arrested Mahmoud Jaballah in 1999 through the use of a national security certificate, a controversial tool that uses classified evidence kept secret from the accused. That kicked off a 17-year battle between Jaballah and the federal government over the legitimacy and constitutionality of the certificates. Jaballah has always maintained the allegations against him are false.

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A person named in a certificate as a security risk to Canada can be deported under immigration law. Between 1999 and 2016, the government signed three security certificates naming Jaballah, all of which ultimately failed to stand up in court. The government’s case ultimately died in the Federal Court of Appeal in October 2016.