Mr. Chairman, we are participating in a “Save Gordon” operation today. I see everyone sitting around this table, but in reality, no one is questioning the Afghanistan mission nor the extraordinary contribution of our men and women. However, we can see that the government's incompetence and the way they have behaved in managing this crisis, which is of its own making, raises questions.
We are here today at the request of the Standing Committee on National Defence, particularly because there have been problems. Mr. O'Connor, your department is carrying out an inquiry on two detainees who, according to allegations, have been victims of brutality.
I will go straight to the point. You talked about transfers. When we work alongside the Afghan National Army, during its operations, there is a difference between the word “transfer” and the word “handover”. That means, for example, that if we detain someone, arrest them
on the spot, on the field. During the operation, you have what you call an “it depends” concept, meaning that the person can just hand over that person to the Afghan National Army.
If so, how can we be sure that the agreement will apply there, and how can we be respectful of the Geneva Convention when we know, from an article in The Globe and Mail, that at least two individuals disappeared at that time? How can we protect our troops if we cannot even apply those kinds of agreements on those issues?