Ujjal Dosanjh

[Afghanistan, March 31st, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Colonel Juneau, the Deputy Commander of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan, told the Minister of National Defence seven months after the government claimed it fixed the problems that he could not ensure that the transferred detainees were not facing a real risk of torture. He told the government that the legal test upon which transfer decisions must be based could not be satisfied at that time.

While in a state of denial, the government has known this all along. Is it not time to stop the cover-up and call a public inquiry to tell Canadians the truth?

[Afghanistan, March 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in the documents dumped in Parliament last week, there is at least one document that appears twice. In one instance, a paragraph is blacked out; in the other, it is not. Clearly this process is random, arbitrary and driven by the politics of cover-up.

When will Canadians learn who in government knew what and when? When will the government have the courage to be decent and honest and call a public inquiry?

[Afghanistan, March 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about openness and transparency.

The torture documents that were dumped in Parliament last Thursday show that the government is actually concealing information from Parliament, not for national security but to protect itself from embarrassment. Torture is a stark reality in Afghan jails. The government is hiding the ugly truth about torture and who knew what and when.

When will the government stop trying to shield itself from embarrassment and call a public inquiry so that Canadians can learn the truth?

[Afghanistan, March 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the government dumped some torture documents in this House. They have been ready since January to be released to the House, yet there was no translation, no copies. They were in no particular order. The government has had three and a half months to provide these documents, yet its response today has been totally incoherent and totally disorderly, like chickens with their heads cut off.

When will the government provide a coherent answer to this torture scandal?

[Afghanistan, March 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government appointed Mr. Iacobucci at the last minute on a Friday morning, then took two weeks to release his terms of reference, and this morning dumped some torture documents in the House without Mr. Iacobucci reviewing them.

What was the government's objective in hiring him? Was it just a stalling tactic? Why is Mr. Iacobucci being circumvented? Does he have a real job, or is this just more cover for the government?

[Afghanistan, March 22nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is not about documents alone. It is about all of the information about torture.

It is well known from information provided to the public by the U.S. and the U.K. that detainees continue to be tortured in Afghanistan. Some have seen the uncensored documents. They accuse the government of engaging in the out-sourcing of torture.

Unlike our allies, the Conservative government is still covering up torture.

When will the Conservative government stop using the cloak of national security to perpetrate the cover-up on the torture scandal?

[Afghanistan, March 22nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. and U.K. routinely provide information to the public on torture in Afghanistan. Even the new reporting structure of the U.S. special forces is being disclosed publicly without being perceived as a threat to national security. The Conservative government is using national security to shield itself from embarrassing questions about torture.

When will the Conservative government be honest with Canadians, stop using national security to hide embarrassing truths about torture and call a public inquiry into the torture scandal?

[Afghanistan, March 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government may have forgotten, but people remember that months ago the International Criminal Court prosecutor in The Hague initiated a preliminary investigation into the conduct of the Canadian government with regard to torture. Yet the government continues to transfer detainees to a serious and substantial risk of torture. The prosecutor may commence a full criminal investigation. A public inquiry may persuade the prosecutor to not commence a full criminal investigation.

Why not do the right thing and call a public inquiry?

[Afghanistan, March 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, according to a lawyer for Amnesty International, Mr. Iacobucci will simply be providing a second opinion that could possibly take two years. Britain has stopped all detainee transfers. It is concerned about torture right now.

The Conservative government continues to transfer detainees to possible torture. Why? Why will it not call a public inquiry and end this sordid spectacle?

[Health, March 16th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the Minister of Health that the finance minister replied to the same question yesterday by saying, “I am not the Minister of Health”. He did not defend our public health care system.

Every time Conservatives have been asked to comment on the health care reform in the U.S., they have failed to defend our world-class system. Every time they are given an opportunity to stand up for our public health care system in Canada, they duck and they cover. Are the Conservatives ashamed of defending our public health care system because they believe it should be privatized?