First of all, I would like to come back to the possibility of carrying out joint operations. I don't believe that it is possible. We had the agreement studied by specialists, and they say that there is a legislative gap. It is obvious that if the Canadian army arrests any Taliban during an operation, the agreement will cover that situation. If it is an Afghan-only operation, it obviously would not come under our system, but if it is a joint operation with the Afghan army, things are not so clear. If a Canadian officer arrests a Taliban and hands him over to an Afghan group on the spot, we will lose sight of that detainee. I believe that that constitutes a legal void. I believe that that situation must be rectified because it exposes the Canadian government and its soldiers to potential prosecutions before the international courts. Within the framework of a joint operation, all detainees must be treated in the same fashion.
Furthermore, have you considered the possibility—and I raised this issue with NATO—of establishing prison facilities that would be jointly managed by NATO and the Afghans? I think that would completely eliminate the risk of torture, because there would be a common administration and we could see what was happening there every day. Torture does not only happen in the field of operations, but also in the prisons. I want to know if Canada has asked NATO if it would be possible to set up such a system.
As far as the famous state secrecy is concerned, I am often told that certain things cannot be revealed to me, because otherwise they would have to kill me. I am wondering why security clearances in Canada are more stringent than those in the United States of America. We have the list of the 759 prisoners, we know what their citizenship is, where they were born and their date of birth. How is it that Americans can get this information whereas it is impossible for us? I feel that this matter goes too far. Normally, I accuse the Canadian government of being in bed with George W. Bush. On the other hand, in this case, you are going even further than him by not allowing us to see these lists.
Mr. Chairman, it is important for parliamentarians to be able to get as much informations as possible because they are accountable to their constituents. I cannot accept being told that it is impossible to disclose something as simple to us as this list of detainees.
I will leave you the remaining time to answer.