Yes, I read the article. I believe almost every witness who will appear before the committee has read these articles. Moreover I talked to the author of the articles at that time. Within 48 hours of these reports, I was in the basement of the NDS talking with detainees in order to ascertain what had happened. This was not an inquiry. We did not have the means or the expertise to conduct an inquiry. The government reacted almost instantly, which is understandable. We reacted not only in Kandahar but also in Kabul where representations were made at the highest levels. As a Canadian bureaucrat, I think I can be proud of the fact that as soon as we had knowledge of these allegations, we reacted so swiftly and so effectively. Changes were made to the system following that.
Evidence of meeting #7 for Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was detainees.
A recording is available from Parliament.