I will split my time with my colleague, Mr. Wilfert.
It's good to be back.
I just want to say, Mr. Minister, if the language of my questions is harsh, it is because the issues are difficult. No offence is intended and none should be taken.
It is now common ground, Mr. O'Connor, that you misled the House with respect to the status of the International Red Cross vis-à-vis their ability or willingness to monitor the detainees and their plight after transfer. You misled the House with respect to the ability and the willingness of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. They don't have enough resources and they don't have access to all the jails or all the cells.
Yesterday, Mr. O'Connor, you said, in response to the Globe and Mail allegations of abuse and torture of the detainees, that you had no such information and no such evidence. Yet, today, we see the report entitled Afghanistan 2006. Initially, of course, the existence of that report was denied by officials, and that report reads in part that in Afghanistan, “Extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial are all too common.”
Not only you, but the Prime Minister also misled the House by saying the government had no such evidence in their possession.
The question I have for you, Mr. O'Connor, is this. When did you know that this report entitled Afghanistan 2006 existed? When did you read it, if ever at all? Who else read it, and when?