Michael Ignatieff

[Afghanistan, December 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, again, the issue is whether the minister will bring to the committee this afternoon the new information that has made him change his story once again.

Will he appreciate that this constant changing of stories reduces the trust that Canadians have in the minister's capacity to tell the House the truth?

Will he finally agree that it is more than time to appoint a public inquiry, with a judge, to get to the truth of the matter?

[Afghanistan, December 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday the Minister of National Defence said in the House that the detainee we have been talking about was not transferred by Canadian authorities. Today the government is admitting the reverse.

Can the minister tell the House what new information led him to change his story? Will the minister understand that this constant charade of changing his story will not do? Will he further understand that a military inquiry into this matter is insufficient because it does not deal with political responsibility?

When will the government do the right thing and appoint a public inquiry to get to the bottom of this?

[Afghanistan, December 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, General Natynczyk did the right thing. Our soldiers on the ground did the right thing. The issue is whether the government did the right thing.

For more than a year, it had credible reports from Canadian diplomats, from Canadian military, of abuse of detainees in Afghan prisons. It did nothing. Will it now admit that it made a mistake?

There was a year when it did nothing. Will it appoint an independent judicial inquiry to get to the bottom of this affair and will it fire the Minister of National Defence?

[Afghanistan, December 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when General Natynczyk corrected his account this morning, he did so, he said, in order to restore trust in his office and in his institution. The issue here is trust. We cannot trust this government. We cannot trust a word that comes out of the mouth of this minister.

When will the Prime Minister fire him and call a full independent public inquiry?

[Afghanistan, December 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, General Natynczyk confirmed that in June 2006 at least one detainee transferred by the Canadian Forces was subjected to abuse in Afghanistan.

Military personnel in Afghanistan helped the detainee. They did the right thing. General Natynczyk did the right thing.

Now, it is up to the government to do the right thing. It must launch an independent, judicial, public inquiry.

Why does it still refuse to do so?

[Afghanistan, December 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the issue is much simpler than this. It is an issue about what happens when Canadian soldiers report credible accounts of detainee abuse; those accounts are not in question; they take photographs of the abuse; they report it up the chain of command and, for a year, the government does nothing about it. That is the issue.

Why will the government not account for that year in which it did nothing?

[Afghanistan, December 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, not just the diplomats but Canadian military are not being listened to by the government. Field notes by Canadian soldiers make it clear that a detainee was beaten in Afghan custody after being transferred by Canadian troops, way back in June 2006. Our soldiers saw it first-hand. They took photographs. They did the right thing. They rescued the man. They reported it up the chain of command. However, the government did nothing.

What kind of Canadian government refuses to act on first-hand accounts by its own troops, credible accounts, of detainee abuse in Afghan jails?

[Afghanistan, December 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, 23 ambassadors have condemned the smear campaign against Richard Colvin. These former ambassadors say that the Colvin affair could create an atmosphere of intimidation in Canada's public service.

When will this government stop showing contempt for public servants who are trying to do their jobs, and when will it stop intimidating Canadians who are trying to tell the truth about torture?

[Afghanistan, December 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this is precisely a case where the Canadian Forces did their job. They saw someone being beaten, his face covered in blood, and they did the right thing. This side of the House did the right thing.

For a year the government had credible evidence this had occurred and it did nothing. What kind of government, what kind of Canadian government, refuses to act on credible accusations of torture, evidence of torture and in this case evidence provided by Canadian Forces?

[Afghanistan, December 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the point is that the Canadian Forces did their job; the question is whether the government did its job.

The issue here is that the minister says one thing, but a Canadian field officer's diary and sworn testimony say another. I would prefer to believe the testimony of the officer and not the minister opposite.

Can he give me a reason to believe anything he says?