Statement made on 15 December 2009 by Senator Jane Cordy
Hon. Jane Cordy:
Honourable senators, we are fortunate in Canada to have outstanding men and women in our military serving Canadians around the world. Our Canadian military is in Afghanistan because we believe in democracy, human rights and equality for women. Canadians do not believe in corruption and Canadians do not believe in torture. However, the question we must ask is this: Were the detainees who were handed over to the Afghan authorities tortured or abused? We must ask ourselves: Did senior government officials ignore the signs and what they were told by people like Richard Colvin and organizations such as the International Red Cross?
Will Minister MacKay and Prime Minister Harper obey the will of the majority of MPs who voted in the House of Commons to have the government release all documentation in order to determine exactly what the government knew about the Afghan detainees and when? Will the government release all documentation, unedited and unredacted, to the committee members dealing with Afghanistan so that they can do their job?
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