Crooked in Canada

PM Stephen Harper wants the truth told about what it was Canada knew about Afghan torture; he said as much the other day that his expectation was that everybody should want to cooperate.

Well, that doesn’t look like the PM is going to get what he wants, cooperation. It seems his government is blocking attempts by whistle blower Richard Colvin to hand over what will be classified as sensitive documents to a special House of Commons committee investigating the claims of Afghan torture.

The “classified docs” might not end up in the hands of MPs on that committee if the Conservative government gets its way.

Apparently, Justice Department lawyers have told Colvin in a roundabout way (via Foreign Affairs department), that when it comes to his testimony and those documents, they are exempt from national security provisions of the Canada Evidence Act.

Now what was the PM said, or maybe it was just implied, about wanting his government to fully cooperate again? Come on Harp, do the right thing here, walk the f***ing walk buddy.

I hear that Canada’s former chief of defense staffer General Rick Hillier is set to testify on the detainee controversy. As much as I respect that he has served his country honourably (he better have), the Gen. Hillier isn’t exactly what I would call a credible witness these days.

Gen. Hillier has been emotionally and mentally traumatized, scarred by the events he has witnessed during his illustrious military career. I think he’s a few nuts and bolts short of tank these days.

Coincidentally, the government is refusing to release archival material about socialist politician Tommy Douglas, something to do with “national security” apparently.

To that end, his actress daughter Shirley says that RCMP Security Services files on her father should be released, that that is what he would have wanted.

Yes, the truth must be told, but for some reason or other, PM Harper’s government is kind of stumbling on that. No worries though because the Liberal opposition, what is left of it anyway, is on it.

Look what I got in my email inbox from the National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada, as it relates to the truth about those Afghan torture claims. (See below).

Oh and by the way, how long has Canada been in Afghanistan for now, and is it possible that when the Liberals were in power, they will have known a little something about what was going down in Afghanistan as it relates to prisoners being tortured? I kind of think so.

Friend–

Canada’s reputation as a human rights champion is on the line. Let’s stop Stephen Harper before he makes Canada a place we can’t recognize.

The Afghan detainee scandal has the government’s spin machine on overdrive. First the Conservatives called Richard Colvin, the courageous public servant who testified about prisoner abuse at a parliamentary committee last week, a Taliban “dupe.” Now, we’ve learned that Mr. Colvin copied the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on his warnings, suggesting that those at the highest levels of government were aware of the situation.

It’s textbook US Republican-style attack politics, except this time it’s undermining Canada’s mission to bring democracy and respect for the rule of law to Afghanistan. We owe it to our troops, our diplomats, and to Canada’s international reputation to find the truth about what happened. In times like these, no one can afford to sit on the political sidelines.

Thank you,

Rocco Rossi
National Director, Liberal Party of Canada

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