Timeline of the Canadian Afghan detainee issue

The following is a timeline of events in the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. This includes many specific dates and statements.

2005-2006

On December 18, 2005, in the midst of a general election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...

and while the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

government of Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

was still in power, Chief of Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the second most senior member of the Canadian Forces, and heads the Armed Forces Council, having primary responsibility for command, control, and administration of the forces, as well as military strategy, plans, and requirements...

Rick Hillier
Rick Hillier
General Rick Hillier, CMM, MSC, CD , is the former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces. He held this appointment from February 4, 2005 to July 1, 2008. He retired on July 1, 2008, and was replaced by former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk...

signed an agreement between Canada's Department of National Defence
Department of National Defence (Canada)
The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...

and the Government of Afghanistan which did not include any explicit right of access by Canada to Afghan detainees, or any right of notification or veto if Afghanistan wanted to transfer a detainee on to a third country
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...

.
After several months of delay the arrangement is finally made public in March 2006.
On April 5, 2006, during the first question period
Question Period
Question Period, known officially as Oral Questions occurs each sitting day in the Canadian House of Commons. According to the House of Commons Compendium, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.”-History:The...

of the 39th Parliament New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

(NDP) Defence Critic Dawn Black
Dawn Black
Dawn Black is a politician in British Columbia, Canada.Born Dawn Whitty, Black became involved in politics from a young age, she became an assistant to New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Pauline Jewett.-Member of Parliament:...

asked Gordon O'Connor
Gordon O'Connor
Gordon James O'Connor, is a retired Brigadier-General, businessman, lobbyist, and current Canadian Member of Parliament and the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip....

to renegotiate the prisoner transfer agreement with the Afghan government. O'Connor refused saying "Mr. Speaker, we have no intention of redrafting the agreement. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent are charged with ensuring that prisoners are not abused. There is nothing in the agreement that prevents Canada from determining the fate of prisoners so there is no need to make any change in the agreement."
Later in April 2006, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor
Gordon O'Connor
Gordon James O'Connor, is a retired Brigadier-General, businessman, lobbyist, and current Canadian Member of Parliament and the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip....

explained that "the process is that if Canadian soldiers capture insurgents or terrorists they hand them over to the Afghan authorities and then the International Red Cross or Red Crescent supervise the detainees. If there is any problem, the Red Cross or Red Crescent would inform us and then we would become involved." O'Connor reiterated the same theme on May 31, 2006: "If there is something wrong with their treatment, the Red Cross or Red Crescent would inform us and we would take action." The Red Cross however said that O'Connor was misunderstanding or misinterpreting their mandate, and it was the Canadians' responsibility.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...

starting playing a role in the interrogation of Afghans captured by Canadian Forces in 2006.

2007

In early February 2007, University of Ottawa (Canada) Law Professor, Amir Attaran
Amir Attaran
Amir Attaran is a Canadian lawyer, immunologist, and law professor.Currently, Attaran is Associate Professor of Law and Population Health and the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa.-Early life and education:Attaran...

produced documents he had received through an Access to Information
Access to Information Act
Access to Information Act or Information Act is a Canadian act providing the right of access to information under the control of a government institution...

(Freedom of Information) request showing that three prisoners in the custody of Canadian military police were brought in by their Afghan interrogator for treatment of similar injuries to the head and upper body, all on the same day. Attaran argued this could be evidence of torture on the part of the interrogator and should be investigated. In response, O'Connor stated that "the president of the Red Cross also said that basically our procedures are absolutely spotless, " O'Connor told reporters last month. "He's quite pleased with what we do with prisoners."
On February 26, the Military Police Complaints Commission announced it would be launching an investigation of the handling of detainees following a complaint filed by Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association or BCCLA is a non-government organization in British Columbia, Canada dedicated to the preservation, maintenance and extension of civil liberties and human rights in Canada....

. It was revealed that there were allegations that the three prisoners had in fact been abused by Canadian soldiers.
On March 8, 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...

stated, in contradiction to O'Connor's earlier words, that it had no role in monitoring the Canada-Afghanistan detainee-transfer agreement. Its spokesman also indicated that following long-established operating procedure, the Red Cross would not reveal to any foreign government any abuses it might find in Afghan prisons. Following the Red Cross statement, O'Connor was heavily criticised by the opposition following this revelation The same day, The Globe and Mail announced that it had discovered the three detainees discussed in the report had subsequently disappeared after being given into ANA custody.
On March 13, O'Connor traveled to Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

to meet with Abdul Noorzai of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission is an Afghan organisation dedicated to the preservation of human rights and the investigation of human rights abuses....

. He wanted to "look the man in the eyes", and gain assurances that detainees were being supervised.
On March 19, O'Connor apologised for previously misleading the House on the Red Cross issue.
On March 21, in response to continued criticism of O'Connor's earlier actions, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

intervened in the issue, stating in the House that "I can understand the passion that the leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for the Taliban prisoners... I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers."
On April 23, 2007, The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...

published interviews with 30 men who claimed they were "beaten, starved, frozen and choked after they were handed over to Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security". This prompted intense questioning by all opposition parties, including demands for a new agreement with Afghan authorities and unanimous demands for O'Connor's resignation.
On April 24, a Liberal motion to recall Canadian troops by 2009 failed, as the NDP wished for immediate withdrawal and the Conservatives argued against any timetable for a withdrawal. The same day, in speaking of the detainees, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day
Stockwell Day
Stockwell Burt Day, Jr., PC, MP is a former Canadian politician, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is a former cabinet minister in Alberta, and a former leader of the Canadian Alliance. Day was MP for the riding of Okanagan—Coquihalla in British Columbia and the president of...

said that "these people have no compunction about machine-gunning, mowing down little children; they have no compunction about decapitating or hanging elderly women; they have no compunction about the most vicious types of torture you can imagine."
On April 25, The Globe and Mail revealed that it had received an expurgated report by the government on human rights in Afghanistan through a freedom-of-information request, and also had obtained an intact copy through other means. In the official version "negative references to acts such as torture, abuse, and extra judicial killings were blacked out without an explanation." After intensive questioning in the House on this revelation, O'Connor claimed that a new agreement had been reached, saying "we have, in the last few days, entered into a local agreement in the Kandahar province to enter the detention facilities any time we want."

On April 26, Michael Byers and William Schabas
William Schabas
William Schabas is an author and academic in the field of international criminal and human rights law. He is a professor of international law and Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and an internationally respected expert on human rights law,...

announced they had issued a request to the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

to investigate "possible war crimes" by Gordon O'Connor and General Rick Hillier
Rick Hillier
General Rick Hillier, CMM, MSC, CD , is the former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces. He held this appointment from February 4, 2005 to July 1, 2008. He retired on July 1, 2008, and was replaced by former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk...

, Chief of the Defence Staff, over the detainee-transfer issue.

The Globe and Mail quoted an anonymous Conservative source about why Harper was not planning to dismiss O'Connor despite his mistakes with the file: "If it's interpreted as us wavering, or any weakening of resolve that somehow we're on the wrong course, those questions would get asked... The Taliban would see it as a positive thing."
In Parliament, Stephen Harper stated that there was "no evidence that access is blocked to the prisons" and said that Afghan authorities had agreed to "formalize that agreement so there is no potential misunderstanding", suggesting the agreement had yet to be settled. Shortly afterwards, Stockwell Day asserted that Canadian correctional officers in Kandahar already had unrestricted access to detainees, and this had always been the case. An anonymous Conservative source blamed the apparent difference in messages between Harper and his ministers to Harper's managerial style of "take everything on on your own."
On April 30, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as the 11th Secretary General of NATO from January 5, 2004 until August 1, 2009....

announced tha the Afghan government was to launch an inquiry about the fate of detainees. In Parliament, House Leader Peter Van Loan
Peter Van Loan
Peter Van Loan, PC MP is a Canadian politician who is the Member of Parliament for the electoral district of York—Simcoe. He has been the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons since May 18, 2011, a role he previously held from 2007 to 2008.-Biography:Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Van...

questioned the existence of torture, saying "we have yet to see one specific allegation of torture ... If [opposition members] have a specific name, we'd be happy to have it investigated and chased down, but they continue to repeat the baseless accusations made by those who wish to undermine our forces there." Stockwell Day claimed that Corrections Canada officials in Afghanistan had heard abuse claims from detainees.
On May 2, General Hillier took responsibility for signing the detainee-transfer agreement in December 2005, saying "Truly at the time we thought that was the right thing to do, that it was the right approach. Obviously we'll reassess that as allegations come out that perhaps that was not sufficient." He also indicated that Canadians soldiers in Afghanistan were upset at the prominence the abuse allegations had received in Canadian media. The Federal Court announced a hearing into an injunction filed by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

against future detainee transfers.
On May 3, Hiller announced that a new detainee transfer agreement had been signed which allows for follow-up monitoring of prisoners. Following this, the Federal Court hearing was suspended.
On June 1, 2007, following testimony from officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of Information Commissioner, New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

Ethics Critic Pat Martin
Pat Martin
Patrick "Pat" Martin is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Canadian House of Commons since 1997, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party.-Career:...

sent a letter to the acting commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

(RCMP) asking for a criminal probe into DFAIT's cover-up of reports regarding extrajudicial killing and torture in Afghan prisons.
On June 25, 2007, it was revealed that the military probe investigating handling of detainees would not investigate any aspect of the detainee's treatment after their handover to Afghan authorities.
On August 14, 2007, during a cabinet shuffle
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....

, Gordon O'Connor was transferred from National Defence to National Revenue, with Peter MacKay
Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....

taking over as defence minister. Many media reports, including the CBC, the Globe and Mail, and National Post regarded O'Connor's new portfolio as a demotion as a consequence of his handling of the prisoner abuse allegations.
On August 31, 2007, it was revealed that General Hillier and the government had hired British legal scholar Christopher Greenwood
Christopher Greenwood
Sir Christopher John Greenwood CMG QC is a duly elected member of the International Court of Justice. He is a barrister and professor of international law at the London School of Economics...

to submit a legal opinion to the Federal Court of Canada
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...

arguing "Canada's military has no obligation to accord Afghan detainees Canadian-style legal rights."

2008-2009

In January 2008, it was revealed that the Harper government, months earlier, quietly ceased the detainee transfers after an internal investigation revealed the allegations to be credible.
On October 6, 2009, the lawyer for Canadian diplomat, Richard Colvin
Richard Colvin (diplomat)
Richard Colvin is a Canadian diplomat who gained public attention as a witness in the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. He appeared before the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in late 2009 where he discussed a signed affidavit alleging that Afghan detainees turned over to...

(called to testify at a hearing into allegations of Afghan prison torture) said that the Conservative government was trying to keep her client silent. In a letter sent to the Canadian Department of Justice
Department of Justice (Canada)
The purpose of the Department of Justice is to ensure that the Canadian justice system is fair, accessible and efficient. The Department also represents the Canadian government in legal matters...

and obtained by CBC News
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

, lawyer Lori Bokenfohr said the government invoked the national security order in response to Richard Colvin
Richard Colvin (diplomat)
Richard Colvin is a Canadian diplomat who gained public attention as a witness in the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. He appeared before the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in late 2009 where he discussed a signed affidavit alleging that Afghan detainees turned over to...

's decision to co-operate with the Military Police Complaints Commission
Military Police Complaints Commission
Military Police Complaints Commission is a Canadian government independent, quasi-judicial agency which was established in December 1998 and is responsible for "handling of complaints concerning the Canadian Forces Military Police more transparent and accessible, and to ensure that both...

.
On November 18, 2009, allegations regarding the treatment of Taliban prisoners captured by Canadian forces in Afghanistan resurfaced in parliamentary testimony by Richard Colvin, the second highest ranked member of Canada’s diplomatic service in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007. Liberal MPs demanded an independent public inquiry to get to the bottom of the torture scandal, "in order to restore Canada’s human rights record and trust in government". "It’s now clear that Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin was muzzled with every effort made to prevent him from documenting his findings or report them publicly – but the story on why this was covered up still has yet to be told", said Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

. Liberal MP Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, MP was Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul Martin lost power following the 2006 federal election. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Mount Royal in a by-election...

said Canada "acted responsibly" when the previous Liberal government called an inquiry into the deportation and torture of Maher Arar
Maher Arar
Maher Arar is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who resides in Canada. Arar's story is frequently referred to as "extraordinary rendition" but the U.S. government insisted it was a case of deportation.Arar was detained during a layover at John F...

in a Syrian prison: this Canadian citizen was passing through New York from a vacation in Tunisia seven years ago when U.S. officials held him, wrongly accused him of links with Al Qaeda and sent him to Syria, where he was jailed for months and regularly beaten. "Getting to the bottom of what happened to Mr. Arar was important to Canadians in order to restore their confidence in their government and the administration of justice. It was important to the international community to know that we would not be part of any cover up". Liberal Defence Critic Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dev Singh Dosanjh, PC, QC, is a Sikh Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as 33rd Premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011 including a stint as Minister of Health from 2004 until 2006 when the party lost...

stated that the Conservatives’ "complicity" undermines Canada’s mission to bring democracy and respect for the rule of law to Afghanistan .
On November 19, 2009, the Canadian government dismissed calls for a public inquiry. "There has not been a single, solitary proven allegation of abuse involving a transferred Taliban prisoner by Canadian forces" MacKay said in the House of Commons. MacKay painted Colvin as having been "duped" by the Taliban and suggested not to accept the word of prisoners "who throw acid in the face of schoolgirls". Also he said he did not know about Colvin's allegations. Ottawa University law professor Amir Attaran
Amir Attaran
Amir Attaran is a Canadian lawyer, immunologist, and law professor.Currently, Attaran is Associate Professor of Law and Population Health and the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa.-Early life and education:Attaran...

said MacKay had to explain how he could not have known about the 17 reports that Colvin wrote 17 reports with more than 70 cc's that he sent to colleagues in Ottawa .
On December 4, 2009, the Liberals accused the government to "stonewall" the requests for a public inquiry, despite mounting evidence that the Conservative government refused to act on warnings of torture:

1. The International Red Cross warned Canada of torture and complained of notification delays. In May and June 2006, Richard Colvin and at least two other Canadian officials were twice warned by the Red Cross that torture was a serious risk in Afghan prisons. The Red Cross also complained that it took up to two months for Canada to report prisoner transfers to them.

2. The government pressured soldiers to transfer detainees faster. Top Canadian commanders in Kandahar testified to the Military Police Complaints Commission

Military Police Complaints Commission

Military Police Complaints Commission is a Canadian government independent, quasi-judicial agency which was established in December 1998 and is responsible for "handling of complaints concerning the Canadian Forces Military Police more transparent and accessible, and to ensure that both...

that officials in Ottawa pressured them to transfer detainees before proper medical treatment or paperwork could be administered.

3. Afghan intelligence stopped accepting Canadian detainees due to a lack of evidence. Complaints about the quality of evidence provided by Canadian troops left Afghan prosecutors with little admissible evidence to use in judicial proceedings, and resulted in a halt of detainee transfers at their request.

4. Many Canadian transferred detainees were not high-value Taliban targets. A Canadian commander in Afghanistan told the Military Police Complaints Commission that they were "detaining the local yokels and handing them off".

5. In spring 2007, Richard Colvin told the Prime Minister’s advisor for Afghanistan, David Mulroney, that the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission

Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission is an Afghan organisation dedicated to the preservation of human rights and the investigation of human rights abuses....

charged with monitoring Canadian-transferred detainees had little or no access to the Kandahar prison run by the National Directorate of Security – contrary to assurances provided by then-Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor

Gordon O'Connor

Gordon James O'Connor, is a retired Brigadier-General, businessman, lobbyist, and current Canadian Member of Parliament and the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip....

6. Linda Garwood-Filbert, a Corrections Canada official who visited Afghan prisons, did not consider the discovery of a braided electrical cable in the office of the director of Afghan investigations as evidence of torture.

7. The government only provided incomplete and redacted documents to members of the Canadian House of Commons Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, refusing to provide unredacted copies of Richard Colvin’s reports, detainee memos, and the annual human rights report of the Canadian Embassy in Afghanistan.

8. Canadian officials did not investigate torture allegations. Eight months after the new detainee agreement was put in place, Canadian official Kerry Buck said in a court document, "It is not our role to determine the credibility of the allegations, to determine the veracity of the allegations. We don’t investigate those allegations."

9. The International Criminal Court

International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

would examine the treatment of Afghan prisoners .

On December 5, 2009, Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Canada was "trying to change the culture" in Afghanistan. When asked why it took more than a year to act on allegations of torture, MacKay said to the press that the government moved as fast as they could. "We acted almost immediately. In fact, upon taking government it became quite clear there were deficiencies in the arrangement of how we transfer detainees" .
On December 9, 2009, after the release of a letter signed by 23 ex-ambassadors that condemned Conservative attempts to discredit Colvin, the NDP demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Peter MacKay's, accusing him of misleading the House of Commons over what the government knew about the possible torture and what it did about the allegations . That number later climbed to 125 retired ambassadors . On December 9, 2009, after testifying the day prior that one particular abused detainee was never in Canadian Forces custody, General Walter Natynczyk
Walter Natynczyk
General Walter J. Natynczyk , CMM, MSC, CD is the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces.-Biography:Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1958, where he grew up with his two sisters, Natynczyk is the son of a Polish father and German mother. He worked as a Winnipeg Free Press paperboy and a...

corrected himself upon receiving new information showing the contrary. Canada's top military commander went on to say that he would investigate the incident and why the information about it was so slow to surface.
On December 10, 2009, the House of Commons of Canada passed a motion requiring the release of unredacted documents concerning the Afghan detainees to the committee hearing the issue. The government refused, setting up the possibility that it could be found in contempt of Parliament
Contempt of Parliament
In some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...

.
On December 16, 2009, excerpts were published from Colvin's Dec. 16 letter to the House of Commons Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan .
On December 21, 2009, it was unveiled that the former Canadian ministers Peter MacKay (Foreign Affairs), Stockwell Day (Public Safety) and Gordon O'Connor (Defense), met the head of the International Red Cross in the fall of 2006, when the humanitarian organization tried to focus Canada's attention on alleged abuses in Afghan prisons. The exact contents of the reports of Jakob Kellenberger and Robert Greenhill, then president of the Canadian International Development Agency, in a meeting on September 26, 2006, remained secret .
On December 23, 2009, Colvin accused David Mulroney, his former superior at Foreign Affairs in Ottawa and presently Canada's ambassador to China, of misinforming the parliamentary committee and high-ranking defence officers of negligence in his written rebuttal of officials who testified against his allegations. He tabled his written response at a special House of Commons committee on the detainees affair to clarify "inaccurate or incomplete" evidence by top officials whose testimony has been cited by Defence Minister Peter MacKay to characterize him Colvin as a lone witness whose allegations "lack credibility". Mulroney called Colvin's allegations "speculation," denied that his entreaties about torture had been ignored at top levels in Ottawa and he told parliamentarians that Canadian reports from Afghanistan were edited only to remove opinion or non-fact based information .
On December 30, 2009, Parliament was prorogued at the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

. According to his spokesman, he sought this prorogation (his second prorogation) to consult with Canadians about the economy. "The move triggered immediate condemnation from opposition [Members of Parliament] who labelled the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

government's move an "almost despotic
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...

" attempt to muzzle parliamentarians amid controversy over the Afghan detainees affair." (See 2010 Canada anti-prorogation protests
2010 Canada anti-prorogation protests
On 23 January 2010 there were numerous protests opposing the prorogation of the 40th Canadian Parliament. The prorogation had occurred a month earlier on 30 December 2009 on the constitutional advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and was officially carried out by Governor General...

)

2010

On January 11 Ignatieff again stated that the prorogation was to avoid responding to the Afghan detainee issue, and other issues.
Witness Richard Colvin files complaint against Harper government (See Wikinews tag > )
Early February - In spite of the prorogation, the parliamentary committee looking into the Afghan detainee issue resumed its hearing informally. The hearing was considered informal because the committees do not have power to compel testimony or grant immunity and Conservative MPs would not be represented.
February 3, 2010 - New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar
Paul Dewar
Paul W. Dewar is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Ottawa Centre.Dewar is a member of the New Democratic Party and was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election...

sent a letter to Rob Nicholson
Rob Nicholson
Robert Douglas "Rob" Nicholson, PC, QC, MP , is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Niagara Falls for the Conservative Party and the current Minister of Justice after serving for one year as...

, the justice minister, demanding the documents be released. "If he says 'No' obviously we have contempt of Parliament. And I want it in writing," said Dewar.
On Feb 4, 2010, top constitutional scholar Errol Mendes and military legal expert Michel Drapeau, urged MPs not to abandon their probe into the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. Mendes referred to the Harper government's refusal to hand over uncensored documents, despite a motion passed in the House of Commons to do so: He stated, "The executive is really placing itself above Parliament. For the first time that I know in Canadian history, the executive is saying we are superior to Parliament....This is nothing more than an open defiance of Parliament
Contempt of Parliament
In some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...

. Nothing more, nothing less," he said. He said the Conservative government has violated the Constitution of Canada
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...

and will be in contempt of Parliament
Contempt of Parliament
In some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...

if it continues to refuse to release uncensored documents regarding the Afghan detainee issue.
On February 4, 2010, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...

reported that Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

will not rule out a formal censure of the government for blocking a parliamentary investigation of detainee abuse in Afghanistan when MPs return to work in March, 2010.
On March 2, 2010, MP Derek Lee began setting the stage for a constitutional showdown: He announced that, as soon as he can, he will introduce a privilege motion that calls for an official reprimand of Defence Minister Peter MacKay
Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....

and a reproach of a Department of Justice official. If his motion is successful it could see the Commons sergeant-at-arms using a never-before-exercised power to seize the documents which Parliament requested in December, 2009. He also wrote to the Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

warning that she may need to wade into the fray if the government decides to keep flouting the December 2009 Parliamentary order to produce documents related to the treatment of Afghan detainees.
On March 5, 2010, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson
Rob Nicholson
Robert Douglas "Rob" Nicholson, PC, QC, MP , is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Niagara Falls for the Conservative Party and the current Minister of Justice after serving for one year as...

announced to the House of Commons that former Supreme Court of Canada judge Frank Iacobucci
Frank Iacobucci
Frank Iacobucci, CC was a Puisne Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1991 to 2004 when he retired from the bench. He is an expert in business and tax law.-Early career:...

was appointed to determine if any "injurious" effects would result from making the Afghan detainee documents public. The opposition expressed deep disappointment with the decision, saying that they did not doubt the competence of the former justice, but believed that it was nothing more than another way to delay the issue. In an interview with Evan Solomon
Evan Solomon
Evan Solomon is a Canadian writer, magazine publisher and television journalist, who currently hosts the nightly series Power & Politics on CBC News Network. Beginning in September 2011, he will also host CBC Radio One's weekly political affairs series The House.Solomon graduated from McGill...

, Liberal and NDP defence critics Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dev Singh Dosanjh, PC, QC, is a Sikh Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as 33rd Premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011 including a stint as Minister of Health from 2004 until 2006 when the party lost...

and Jack Harris
Jack Harris (politician)
John James "Jack" Harris MP is a Canadian lawyer and politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Harris is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for St. John's East and is a former leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party...

, respectively, repeated that Parliament has the constitutional right to review unredacted documents, and that there are systems in place to decide what is and is not appropriate to release to the public.
Also on March 5, a second, more serious issue arose when the CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...

published the following statement "Until now, the controversy has centred on whether the government turned a blind eye to abuse of Afghan detainees. However, [ University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

law professor Amir Attaran
Amir Attaran
Amir Attaran is a Canadian lawyer, immunologist, and law professor.Currently, Attaran is Associate Professor of Law and Population Health and the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa.-Early life and education:Attaran...

] said the full versions of the documents show that Canada went even further in intentionally handing over prisoners to torturers." "If the allegation is true, such actions would constitute a war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...

, said Attaran, who has been digging deep into the issue and told CBC News he has seen uncensored versions of government documents released last year."
On March 18, the three opposition parties united in a bid to force the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

to let them look at uncensored documents on the Afghan detainees affair or face parliamentary contempt proceedings. Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...

Peter Milliken
Peter Milliken
Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, UE is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands as a...

said he would rule on the potential breach of privilege after giving ministers a chance to respond. Toronto Liberal Derek Lee, an expert on parliamentary rights, said the request from Parliament was based on "340 years of bedrock constitutional history" in which Parliament has the right to keep the government accountable and to summon documents and witnesses to perform its functions. "There are no other persons who can come into this House to protect the constitutional foundations of this country, only the 308 persons here," Lee said, referring to MPs. "So if we do not stand up for our Parliament's role on behalf of Canadians, then there is no one else out there to do it."
On April 12, 2010, the Speaker thanked all for their submissions and said he would now be considering the matter with a judgment to be delivered "in due course." Those comments in Parliament had come first from Peter MacKay
Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....

and Rob Nicholson
Rob Nicholson
Robert Douglas "Rob" Nicholson, PC, QC, MP , is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Niagara Falls for the Conservative Party and the current Minister of Justice after serving for one year as...

(representing the government), then from Derek Lee and Jack Harris
Jack Harris (politician)
John James "Jack" Harris MP is a Canadian lawyer and politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Harris is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for St. John's East and is a former leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party...

(representing the opposition), then from Tom Lukiwski
Tom Lukiwski
Tom Lukiwski is a Canadian politician. He is the current Conservative Member of Parliament for the Saskatchewan riding of Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre. Born in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, he was a businessman and political administrator....

and Jim Abbott
Jim Abbott (politician)
James "Jim" Abbott, PC, MP was a Conservative member of Canada's House of Commons. Abbott was a member of the Reform Party from 1993 to 2000 and a member of the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2004...

(again representing the government).
On April 27, 2010, Milliken ruled that Parliament had a right to ask for uncensored documents. He asked that all House leaders, ministers and MPs to come to a collective solution by May 11, 2010 "without compromising the security and confidentiality contained." .

It was not until June 16, 2010 that a Memorandum of Understanding was actually tabled in the House of Commons. This was after ten all-party meetings (50 days) since the Speaker's April 27, 2010 ruling, and was 36 days after the Speaker's deadline. Even then, it was still not agreed to by all political parties: the NDP refused to endorse the deal. There was also disagreement over whether the Speaker of the House had made unanimity a requirement in order for the deal to exist. On June 14, 2010, NDP MP Joe Comartin said, "The Speaker of the House of Commons was very clear that all the parties must arrive at a compromise ...It has to be unanimous."

External links

Videos

Government under attack over Afghan detainee abuse allegations (April 2007 video compilation of Parliamentary debates)
Canada's pro-democracy movement (includes footage of Colvin) Produced by Jesse Freeston
Jesse Freeston
Jesse Freeston is a Canadian video journalist and filmmaker. His work focuses primarily on social movements in North and Central America, but he has also done investigative work around topics such as the military-industrial complex, the global economic crisis, and undocumented migration...

, January 29, 2010; Publisher: The Real News (duration: 10:36)

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