Detainee documents committee keeps Canadians in the dark

OTTAWA – After three months of silence, the ad-hoc committee set up to review the documents pertaining to the treatment of Afghan detainees has failed to provide any of the information or accountability called for by the Speaker’s historic ruling last spring.

Today, New Democrats repeated their call for a full public inquiry into the government’s actions surrounding the transfer of detainees despite the knowledge of significant risk of torture.

“This is all about accountability,” said New Democrat Defence Critic Jack Harris (St John’s East). “But the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois signed on to the Conservative’s secret committee and have failed to produce any new information. They’ve shut down the quest for full public disclosure of Canada’s actions in dealing with prisoners of war and challenges to our compliance with humanitarian law. ”

Last June, New Democrats rejected the Conservatives’ proposed deal on Afghan detainee transfer documents because it allowed the government to hijack the process, limit the documents that could be reviewed, delay the process and exclude crucial information from parliamentary review.

“With the help of the other parties, the Conservatives’ secret committee has continued the cover-up of what the government knew about the torture of detainees,” said New Democrat Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre). “A full public inquiry with clean hands and sober eyes is the only way to get accountability.”