OTTAWA -- When Canadian Michael Kapoustin finally won freedom from a Bulgarian prison in 2008, after a 12-year legal and diplomatic battle, he faced two choices.

He could put his overseas nightmare behind him and find a regular job at home; or he could draw on his bleak experience to aid other Canadians in trouble abroad.

The 57-year-old former businessman chose the latter. He's now at the forefront of a group of legal and foreign policy experts calling on the federal government to overhaul its consular assistance program.

The National Council for the Protection of Canadians Abroad says Canada's approach to consular emergencies often lacks accountability. It's demanding the appointment of an independent ombudsman or federal official to whom Canadians can turn if they feel government has not acted appropriately to help a citizen in distress overseas.

Lack of transparency can be frustrating, Kapoustin says. "There is a culture that exists ... that fundamentally does not feel that it needs to open itself to the light."

At any given time, a few thousand Canadians are in jails or prison abroad. The circumstances can range from an overnight stay in a drunk-tank to prolonged detention without trial.

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Kapoustin's case is illustrative. He was charged by Bulgaria in 1996 with several counts of fraud and embezzlement. On appeal, all charges but one were dropped, yet he was sentenced to 17 years.

He spent more than two of them in solitary confinement, where he claims to have been beaten routinely.

Based on high-profile cases of other Canadians imprisoned abroad, such as the detention of Omar Khadr and Maher Arar, the council says Canada is not meeting its "duty of care" to its citizens.

Governments say some secrecy is often necessary to negotiate with other nations over the fate of a national imprisoned abroad.

But that can leave families of the Canadian out in the cold, says lawyer Dean Peroff, another founder of the organization. "The government is often far from transparent, and therefore creates more confusion in the minds of the people it's supposed to be representing," he said.

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Canada's consular service is already "world class," responding to more than 500 queries a day.

"It's not clear how creating more bureaucracy would improve front-line consular services," Steve Outhouse said. "However, if this organization or any other wish to submit concrete proposals about how to strengthen consular services, we would be happy to receive them."

The issue of Canadians in trouble abroad will form the basis of a public roundtable in Ottawa this week run by the federal Liberals.

"Many of these cases only come to the surface when they get media attention," Liberal MP Dan McTeague said.

He said while many nations put a premium on defending their citizens abroad, in Canada, the policy is more "a quilt, a patchwork."

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HELP ABROAD

Day-to-day consular service

In an average day, Canada's consular service will handle:

- 506 calls to the operations centre;

- 6 arrest and detention cases opened;

- 2 cases where a death is reported to a mission;

- 3 cases dealing with disasters, accidents and medical assistance;

- 3 cases providing assistance for family distress;

- 13 cases of assistance for loss or theft;

- 9 legal or notary services.

(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade)