Denis Coderre

[Afghanistan, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend the Minister of Foreign Affairs was once again forced to admit that his testimony before a joint committee on the Afghan detainee scandal was not entirely accurate.

The minister claimed that I was confused last week when I told him that the number of alleged cases of torture did not correspond to what he was saying. It is clear that he is the one who was confused. He now admits that not four, but indeed six alleged cases of torture were identified.

How many times have the three amigos of defence, foreign affairs and public safety misled the House without facing the consequences?

[Afghanistan, June 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in April 2006, Canadians had 40 detainees. There was no security issue then.

Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs told us that there had been four allegations of torture since February. One of the detainees was in Kandahar and three were in Kabul. These detainees had been captured by Canadians.

However, in April, the Minister of Public Safety told us that two of the alleged torture cases had taken place in the Kandahar prison.

Once again, the information is unclear. Given that this government has already admitted to losing prisoners and to being unfamiliar with the role of the Red Cross, we have every reason to doubt what it says.

My question is simple. How many allegations of torture and abuse have there been, and where?

[Afghanistan, June 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we know that in April and May of 2006, there were 40 detainees. Thanks to our colleague from Pierrefonds—Dollard, we just managed to find out that our concerns about the allegations of torture and abuse of Afghan prisoners were well founded.

The government's lack of transparency, its inability to provide accurate information and its ongoing desire to hide the truth simply confirm how deeply it is involved in this scandal.

I have two questions for the government. First, how many Afghan detainees have we transferred? And second, do they intend to take custody of transferred detainees who have been subjected to abuse and torture? No more cover-ups.

[Afghanistan, June 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the government is still hiding things from us. I have here a document that shows that the government has information on detainees. A number of weeks have passed, and the government does not want to disclose this information. How many detainees have been transferred? How many detainees are there? How many visits have our authorities made? What is the status of the detainees?

If the government wants to keep what little credibility it still has, it must provide some answers. Compliance with conventions goes hand in hand with transparency. What is the reason for this orchestrated silence? What are the members opposite so afraid of? What is the reason for all the stunts by the Conservatives, each one more incompetent than the last?

[Afghanistan, June 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, four ministers are at committee today to answer Canadians' questions on the Afghan detainee scandal, but Canadians know the government will say anything to cover up its incompetence.

This week it is saying that releasing figures on detainees would be a “propaganda coup” for the Taliban, but access to information officials do not agree. They released some of these details weeks ago, seeing no threat to national security.

How about it? Why does the government continue its pattern of cover-up and secrecy on Afghani detainees?

[National Defence, June 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that he must back up his incompetent minister. But either there are instructions or there are none. It is not complicated. That is what we want to know.

Will the parliamentary secretary show some decency and produce the directives to prove to us, once again, that the minister misled this House? If not he should pass on the message to him and he should tender his resignation on Monday.

[National Defence, June 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we are not impressed.

Despite the Prime Minister's disgraceful comments about our Leader of the Opposition during yesterday's question period, the fact remains that we still have an incompetent Minister of National Defence who should not be in charge of one of the most important departments. It is all well and good for this little Conservative government to attempt to distract us, but in the matter of funeral expenses—the latest chapter in the saga of mistakes by the Minister of Defence—the minister's behaviour and lack of compassion for the bereaved families is disgraceful and unspeakable.

Will the minister have the decency to present to this House the instructions he claims to have given in this matter, or are they also part of his imaginary world?

[Afghanistan, May 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, he does not want to table it.

General Raymond Henault, the first Canadian in 30 years to chair the NATO Military Committee, appeared before our committee this morning.

Interestingly enough, he stated that Canada's image would not be tarnished if it were to go ahead with a rotation of our troops in Afghanistan in February 2009, that it is not unusual and that NATO understands when countries make this decision. Rotation is in order.

Now that his claims have been debunked, why is the Prime Minister not respecting his own deadline of February 2009? Why not consider the rotation of our troops, which is considered normal by NATO and not as abandonment, as his propaganda implies?

[Canadian Forces, May 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the incompetence of the Minister of National Defence is no longer in question. It is a proven fact.

How the Conservative government can stand behind the minister while he hides facts, misleads Parliament and spends most of his day doing damage control is beyond any reasonable Canadian.

He says that he issued a directive on the funeral costs of fallen soldiers in February, or last year, or maybe it was last December.

Will the minister table the proof that he ordered his department to cover the full cost of military funerals or will he admit that he cannot table something that does not actually exist?

[Canadian Forces, May 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it is so easy to say that we are sorry. The family is here. It is the Prime Minister who should say to them that we are sorry.

This morning the Dinning family shared their sorrow and frustration with the inaction of the government in paying the funeral costs of their fallen son. They said they felt that the government had attacked their integrity and honour.

No family should go through this kind of indignity because of a government minister. The worst part was to see that minister play the blame game and orchestrate a very bad crisis management strategy at the last minute, almost as an afterthought. Enough is enough. We want the minister to resign immediately.