Afghanistan committee  The Government of Canada.

Afghanistan committee  It was the Government of Canada at the time.

Afghanistan committee  That was a tremendously important part of everything we did, to make sure that it was the Government of Afghanistan living up to its commitments. Part of that involved regular access to the NDS, the National Directorate of Security, at all levels, including the leader, training for them, training for other Afghan prison officials, regular interaction with the director and senior managers of the prison.

Afghanistan committee  We would provide regular updates to the Prime Minister on conditions across the board in Afghanistan, including the number of visits we were conducting--

Afghanistan committee  Including the detainee issue.

Afghanistan committee  Correct.

Afghanistan committee  The 2005 agreement is entirely in accord with the Geneva Convention, but we felt that we could do more, we could make it more robust, and we could make it better. In 2007, when I came to DFAIT, I was working for Minister MacKay and my reporting went up through him.

Afghanistan committee  We recognized in early 2007 that we needed a more robust arrangement. We needed a stronger arrangement. We put in place an arrangement that gave us unlimited access at any time, that gave the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Red Cross unlimited access at any time.

Afghanistan committee  I do.

Afghanistan committee  That was what we put in place in the spring of 2007. Joint Task Force Afghanistan was at the sharp end of things, actually capturing the detainees, but what we needed in order to really put this in place was much more participation from the civilian agencies, starting with DFAIT but including Correctional Service and the RCMP.

Afghanistan committee  Those were the first allegations of torture against Canadian-transferred detainees.

Afghanistan committee  Well, it was as we suggested; we felt that with the resources we could bring to bear, with the combination of efforts by the Canadian Forces, DFAIT, Correctional Service, RCMP, connecting with our embassy in Kabul, and with lots of money spent on training, we could create, and have created, better conditions for detainees of all kinds, but particularly Canadian-transferred detainees, in the NDS facility and in other prisons in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan committee  That advice would have come, and was built into our strategy, after we signed the arrangement. When in November 2007 we had credible evidence of mistreatment, we made the determination through our ambassador that we had lost confidence in Afghanistan's ability and willingness to live up to the arrangement we had set, and we ceased transfers.

Afghanistan committee  I did not negotiate the 2005 agreement, and I wasn't on the file at that time.

Afghanistan committee  However, it's important to remember the context. In 2005 the Canadian Forces had not yet even deployed to Kandahar. When they deployed to Kandahar they deployed in green uniforms with Iltis vehicles that were under-armoured. We did not know the ferocity of the insurgency that we'd face.