Gordon O'Connor

[Afghanistan, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, if we want to talk about flip-floppers, they are over there. The Leader of the Opposition voted against the extension in Afghanistan; now he supports it. Members over there are flip-flopping all the time. They are the ones who have no consistent position. That party has had three positions in the last year.

[Afghanistan, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our position is that the military commitment is until the end of February 2009. At an appropriate time our government will discuss any possible changes to that commitment.

[Afghanistan, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the member alleges things that I never said. I said that the current military commitment is at the end of February 2009.

[Afghanistan, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we have the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission which has the authority to go into the Afghan system. It will advise us of any abuses. We said that we would provide any logistics support it needs to carry out that function and that is our stand.

[Afghanistan, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said, we take these rumours seriously. We are asking our officials to investigate this with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and with the Afghan officials.

I might remind the member for Toronto—Danforth that we recently had an agreement with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. It has promised to advise us if any of our detainees are abused.

[Afghanistan, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that our forces in Afghanistan treat the detainees with proper care. They follow all the rules.

We have made a recent agreement with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and it has guaranteed that it will report to us any abuses of any detainees we transfer. I have the personal assurance of the leader of the human rights commission in Kandahar and the national level.

[Afghanistan, April 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer clarity to the Afghan people. We are there beside them. We are helping them. We will try to make their lives better and offer security, more development and better governance.

[Afghanistan, April 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our real plan is to make the lives of Afghan people better. It is to bring security and to improve development and governance. In all of those three areas there is steady progress. That is our real secret plan.

[Afghanistan, April 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the problem in Afghanistan is the Taliban. The hon. member's party is for withdrawing completely from Afghanistan now. If we did that, the Taliban would take over completely and they would enforce their murderous regime again, where women would have no rights, children would not go to school, cultural institutions would be destroyed, and in the soccer stadiums every week we would have public executions.

That party, the NDP, claims to be for human rights, and it is working in exactly the opposite way.

[Afghanistan, April 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the member that there are 11 countries beyond NATO in Afghanistan, all contributing to the security and a better life for Afghan people. We would encourage other countries to join the UN NATO-led effort to make the lives of Afghan people better in the future.