Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and it concerns Sudan and Talisman Energy.
Earlier this week the minister said that he had no evidence that the Sudanese government was using Talisman's air fields for offensive purposes in south Sudan. He relied on a document from his own assistant in Sudan, Nick Coghlan, and whited out substantial portions. That document states:
For the past month there have been two Hind gunships stationed at Unity Field, and interlocutors told me they had been flying sorties almost every day, taking on large amounts of ammunition, “and unloading none...”.
Why did the minister's staff white out that section? Why did the minister's staff say that was to protect Canadians when in fact it was a deliberate cover up of the operations of Talisman in allowing the Sudanese government to use its air fields for offensive purposes in Sudan? Why the cover up?