Mr. Speaker, the feigned outrage and fake indignation of the hon. member again belies the House with respect to the seriousness of this issue. I am simply pointing out that the subject matter of detainees has been investigated. In fact, it has been looked at by a number of independent arm's length organizations within the Canadian Forces. This subject matter that is now before the parliamentary committee is getting a full hearing.
To suggest somehow that this subject matter is not complex, not controversial or not difficult is naive in the extreme. We inherited a very difficult situation. We are in a high tempo military operation in one of the most complex countries in the world. Culturally, it is a country with a history of violence, a country that has endured many invasions and a country that has been in turmoil for centuries.
We are there trying to help that country build capacity. The subject of handing over detainees is but one aspect of what we are attempting to accomplish in Afghanistan. I would suggest that we have now pulled much of the discussion off in one direction rather than concentrating on the big picture, which is what Canadians would really expect from the Parliament of Canada.
To suggest somehow that we are trying to withhold information or that we are not being forthright is again completely fallacious. We have undertaken extreme efforts to provide information and witnesses and to co-operate while simultaneously and, most important, improving practical means on the ground to help this mission succeed, to help Afghanistan stabilize and to help Afghans do more to help themselves.