So I would speak against Mr. Van Kesteren's amendment. I'm embarrassed somewhat that our witnesses have had to witness this debacle here today, but it was the culture of secrecy that allowed corruption to flourish in Ottawa for too long. This government billed themselves as the most open government in history, ever, and now they are trying to put a shroud of secrecy over an issue that they're embarrassed about.
While I have the floor, I will explain a bit about that. What they're really embarrassed about.... I suspect that this filibuster is being orchestrated by the PMO for the following reason: the Minister of Foreign Affairs has stood up a number of times in the House of Commons and denied that their government had any knowledge of maltreatment of detainees during the war, yet this document puts the lie to that statement.
It is not only this document, Mr. Chair; the parallel documents from 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and now 2006 all caution the Government of Canada that extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture, and detention without trial are taking place among detainees in Afghanistan, and then they deny the existence of these reports. Well, we have these reports here, and we have people who are willing to give sworn testimony as to the nature of the reports and the fact that the Government of Canada told them these reports didn't exist. This is a bombshell, Mr. Chair, and that's what they're trying to avoid--embarrassment to themselves.
Without even getting into what was censored and what was not censored from the documents, the fact that they denied the existence of these documents is, in and of itself, staggering in its dimensions. With a straight face Mr. Van Kesteren and all these guys are trying to throw obstacles in the way of our committee in doing our work.
I resent it profoundly as a member of Parliament. The general public is watching this. They are running roughshod over the democratic process--not only at this committee but also, as I said, at two other committees at this very same time. All over Parliament Hill democracy is being ground to a halt.