Peter MacKay

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, that is incorrect. There are now three inquiries into this issue. The member knows that there is a lot of documentation before the court, a lot of information, many revelations concerning this file.

We have had 17 different briefings with respect to Afghanistan. We have had debates in the House of Commons. We have had numerous ministers appear before committee. We answer questions daily. There have been numerous documentaries and questions by the press.

What is happening in Afghanistan is hardly a secret despite the attempt by members opposite to suggest so.

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, to be clear, the government is not challenging the Military Police Complaints Commission on its general mandate. This deals specifically with what was announced just a month ago: that it was having public hearings. We believe this is outside the jurisdiction and outside its mandate. This matter will be clarified by the courts. Subject to that, there is not much more that can be said about it.

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, to be clear, I will repeat that we are not challenging the general mandate of the Military Police Complaints Commission. It is this specific subject matter.

There are three separate investigations going on. There have been volumes of information turned over by the Department of National Defence. It is the mandate with respect to operations going on in Afghanistan with respect to today that we are suggesting is outside the mandate, and we will have a judicial ruling on that in the near future.

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that there have been over 17 technical briefings. There have been 20-odd appearances before committee. There have been two debates in the House of Commons which resulted in a vote, something the previous government never did with respect to the Afghanistan mission. With respect to the particular issue that the Military Police Complaints Commission is looking at, this subject matter of a public hearing only was voiced last month, not a year ago. The member should get his truth in order before he starts throwing stones.

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, again there has been a tremendous amount of transparency. With respect to the disclosure on this particular case, there have been over 1,300 documents that have been turned over. There have been 38 witnesses whom the police commission have been allowed to interview. This is the type of disclosure that we believe is in keeping with the mandate.

However, we believe that when it comes to this subject, it is outside the current jurisdiction of the mandate. We will have a judicial clarification on the matter, despite the righteous indignation from the member opposite.

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, that is simply not the case. In fact what we are doing is supporting the Military Police Complaints Commission.

On this particular issue, however, there is a question of jurisdiction. For that reason the Department of Justice, on behalf of the Department of National Defence, is looking for clarification on the jurisdiction and the mandate of the military police. However, we have provided incredible disclosure. We continue to work with this commission on a range of subjects. On this particular mandate subject, we believe the commission is outside its jurisdiction.

[Afghanistan, April 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, that is not how question period works. She does not get to tell me the answers that I give, but she would know, even before we went to Bucharest, our NATO allies were aware.

[Afghanistan, April 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, if the member followed the issue, she would know the answer to that question.

[Afghanistan, April 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that will happen in keeping with the recommendations of the Manley report is that they will have more equipment. They will have greater ability to detect IEDs on the road so that they can continue to build more roads.

I do want to thank the hon. member and her party for her support. I also want to quote Senator Kenny, who said that in his third visit he saw a huge improvement at this time. He said:

We saw a great deal more cooperation in terms of the all-Canada effort. We saw people from CIDA work together with people from Foreign Affairs and with the military. We saw Canadian women who were visiting prisons to assist them. We saw a whole range of services, including the RCMP, providing assistance. And we were impressed with the level of cooperation and the Canadian effort there--

[Afghanistan, April 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it sounds like the shifting of sand under the feet of the Liberal member opposite again. Clearly, the mandate that was given from this Parliament speaks to the need to put focus on the rebuilding of Afghanistan and the humanitarian aid effort, all under the umbrella of security. That is what is taking place in Afghanistan.

I could not agree more with her assessment that there is great credit due to the men and women in uniform, as well as the diplomats and the civilian workers who are there doing incredible work on behalf of our country. I thank her for her support in this regard.