Impolitical

Opportunities out of rude awakenings

2009-11-21T19:15:00.001-05:00

I'm going to come to the defence of Janine Krieber here for the audacity of having said something controversial in the present Canadian political climate. It's all breathless ooohing and ahhing and a bit too much fascination with the event. It should be kept in perspective. Ms. Krieber is a distinguished political science professor and clearly a very intelligent, independent woman in her own right. The fact that she might have a view on present Liberal difficulties is not news. That she chose to publish a note publicly, however, is news and it's fair for media to run with it for that reason. But that note may have been published hastily given that it's apparently been retracted. And I'm assuming it's been verified that she did indeed write it.

Some perspective should be added to these discussions, however. As Stephane Dions wife, she clearly feels a personal sting from his time in leadership and his removal. That's understandable and I'd be heavily influenced by such an experience too. That should be a fact that should be taken into account when reading her views and I'm sure that's an obvious point to anyone reading. She gets a big free pass from me. But it's her view, it's not necessarily translatable at all to a general Liberal unrest.

Having said that, she's not doing anything more than airing issues that are being discussed by Liberals these days. These are tough times, the polls aren't great, it's rebuilding time. It's not surprising that a thinking Liberal might write something like Ms. Krieber did. Let's be honest about it, it's not a surprise that someone would question Ignatieff's leadership. Even he knows that, see the reference in the CP report below. It's difficult to have constant slings coming from within the party but that's par for the course these days.

These are days of rude awakenings, this is one more. Krieber is one voice among many at the moment in the Liberal party doing soul searching. There's nothing to be afraid of in that. Embrace it and act seriously to address such criticisms.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of other issues that should be preoccupying the political class at the moment. The focus needs to be this government and its agenda. I hope Liberals stay focussed on that and stop feeding the ravenous appetite there is out there for Liberal party turmoil. There are lots of willing beneficiaries happily cheering it on.

CP report here, Globe report here.

Voices rising for a public inquiry on Canadian complicity in torture

2009-11-21T17:17:00.000-05:00

First up, Professor Errol Mendes powerfully sets out what is at stake for Canada as Richard Colvin's allegations of Afghan detainees handed over by Canada to a knowingly torturous regime have come to the fore. An important read for anyone wanting to understand the scope of the possible damage done here and the important implications for Canadian democracy and the rule of law that are embodied in the way the Harper government has chosen, from the start, to handle these allegations, by silencing and denying: "Grave allegations."

What Colvin has asserted raises the question of whether such complicity by Canadian officials and possibly their political masters (if further evidence is uncovered that they were informed), had already happened in the 17-month period during which he was sending his reports to the highest levels of government. This could be one of the gravest indictments against those who govern this country. Canada as a member state of the International Criminal Court could even be investigated for war crimes if the evidence mounts that there were credible reports of complicity with torture during the 17-month period of Colvin's reports.

These allegations, if proven, go beyond the detainee abuse. It goes to what is the most sacred in our constitutional and democratic society in Canada. The rule of law requires that no one is above the law and if there is any actual or potential evidence of wrongdoing or illegality, it must be brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities to either stop it or prevent any future occurrence. It should also be a cornerstone of responsible government in Canada that those who govern must be accountable to the Parliament of Canada, which means not misleading members of the House of Commons or Senate if they have information that potentially implicates wrongdoing or illegality by Canadian officials.

The duty to not seriously obstruct the work of critical Canadian institutions would also apply to any court or quasi-judicial commission such as the Military Police Complaints Commission, whose task is finding out if the military police, on orders from those higher up the chain of command, knew or ought to have known of the treatment of detainees once they transferred to the Afghan security organization. Colvin revealed that he was threatened by senior Department of Justice lawyers with prosecution for breaching national security if he co-operated and testified at the commission.

The seriousness of what Colvin has alleged, if proven and corroborated, indicates that where there is a political and accompanying bureaucratic will, the rule of law and democratic accountability can be endangered. This would jeopardize the present and future well being of Canada, and the legal obligations of its officials and institutions. This is something which should concern every Canadian who cares about these fundamental values on which this country has been built. A judicial public inquiry is urgently needed to protect the Rule of Law and democratic accountability in Canada.

A forceful reminder as these parliamentary hearings go forward about how significant the issue really is. This is clearly not just about the facts of torture on the ground in Afghanistan.

From the UK, Colin Horgan also weighs in, "Time for truth about torture." Lots of useful links in Horgan's piece.

A public inquiry is necessary. Taking this discussion outside of partisan bickering in the House seems essential to finding out what Colvin knew, who else might have known what he did, and what role - if any - Canada has played in the abuse of Afghan civilians. Colvin's allegations point to moral corruption - that's not what Canadians were told would be achieved in Afghanistan. As it does for Britain or the US, Canada's role in Afghanistan walks a fine line between defining who we want to be, and the kind of criminals we're supposed to be fighting against. We need to know which side we're walking on.

Further, from Amir Attaran's appearance on CBC the other day, here's an excerpt from a memo which was obtained in that Federal Court lawsuit against the government over the detainee issue. I believe it's dated November 2007, see notation at top of document and report here. It's a memo from a diplomat sending it to a host of individuals, including David Mulroney, former deputy minister of the federal government's Afghan Task Force, and Colleen Swords, former assistant deputy minister in the international security branch of Foreign Affairs or go here to download for your own viewing. We are to believe that these high ranking Harper government officials never discussed such matters with their superiors, apparently. Page 1 (click to enlarge):

Page 3:

"The rule of law requires that no one is above the law and if there is any actual or potential evidence of wrongdoing or illegality, it must be brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities to either stop it or prevent any future occurrence." Now did the Harper government do that?

Food for thought

2009-11-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

"Lessons my mother taught me." Worth a read this afternoon.

Impact of the medical isotope shortage (video)

2009-11-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

A video put out by a group called "United for a Secure Stable Supply," advocating for Canadian medical isotope production. From their press release:

The global medical isotope shortage began in May 2009, when Canada announced that its 52-year-old nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, would be closed for repairs for at least three months. But three months later, the government extended the shut-down, telling the world that medical isotope production would not come back on line by the first quarter of 2010 – at the earliest.

Medical isotopes are an important diagnostic tool that allows physicians to better diagnose and treat a multitude of major diseases including cardiac and several types of cancers. Canada is responsible for producing more than half of the medical isotopes in North America and anywhere from 30%-40% of the world’s supply.

Provinces, health care workers and industry leaders across Canada have been working tirelessly to cope with the medical isotope crisis for five months now.

Click on the video link to hear what some of them had to say about the on-going medical isotope shortage and the impact it is having on Canadians and the world.

The government's unwillingness to date to commit to a long term solution and Mr. Harper's off the cuff remark this summer about pulling the plug on isotope production in the long term (beyond 2016) have caused great uncertainty in Canada's nuclear medicine industry. As Dr. François Lamoureux put it in the video (here's the translation):

"We did not explain properly to the Canadian population that we were going to prevent access and take away an important advanced technology and knowledge which Canada is the main exporter of…and just how important this is for Canada, how essential it is to Canadian patients and those who relied on us around the world, especially in the United States, Japan and South America who depend on us to supply close to 100% (of their medical isotopes). Now without any warning we abandon them and tell the world that Canada is pulling out and by doing so launched an international crisis which Canada is directly responsible for from the start."

Lisa Raitt's expert panel is supposed to report at the end of this month on this issue that in the meantime is continuing to have an impact on costs for our health care system, practitioners and Canadian patients who are not getting timely nuclear diagnostic treatments.

Glad to have come across this, the reporting on the issue has dropped off as H1N1 preoccupies us medically. This issue is still on the radar screen and remains a major health care failing of the Harper government.

Sign of the times

2009-11-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

(CP)

Well, Deficit Jim is the half a trillion dollar poster boy, after all.

Nice shot.

Small steps

2009-11-21T06:40:00.000-05:00

Item:

"It looks like the Liberals are caught in that old classic pincer movement," said Bricker, "where they're now not just losing their centrist and slightly right-wing voters, they're also starting to lose their left-wing voters . . . to the NDP."

Partly why I have been advocating Liberals support the gun registry. If C-391 makes it to third reading, and Liberals whip the vote, then NDP and Conservatives will be the ones to defeat the registry. A clear statement would be made to voters who support it. Note that some NDP faithful are ticked.

The polls are not prohibitive here, EKOS on Thursday actually showed a majority in favour of gun control. There's support for the principle.

The EKOS poll suggests supporters of the gun registry are more likely to be university-educated, Liberal or BQ supporters, or living in Quebec.

...

Fifty-four per cent of people surveyed agreed with the statement that “with the exception of law enforcement, gun ownership should be outlawed completely."

Forty-six per cent of those polled agreed with the statement that “all Canadian citizens should have a legal right to bear arms.”

There's your base and there's your principled justification.

Whether this issue is still on the table or whether a decision has been made to just let it go, that's another question.

Friday night

2009-11-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

Letters to the editor

2009-11-20T11:28:00.001-05:00

Afghan torture shames Canada:

Parliamentary testimony this week documents that the Harper government was knowingly complicit in the torture of Afghan civilians -- many of whom were not even suspected of being enemy Taliban. Stephen Harper's government has disgraced us and our country's good name in front of the entire world.

Eugene Parks
Victoria

The Conservative propaganda machine goes to war

2009-11-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was devoted to tearing down Canadian diplomat and intelligence officer Richard Colvin: "Tories work to undermine diplomat who blew whistle on torture." It may be tougher this time, they've gone down this road repeatedly over their tenure now. The various public servants they've steamrolled are being duly noted. Journalists are asking tough questions.

For example, if you didn't get a chance, listen to the audio of Peter MacKay scrumming with media. They sound quite skeptical of the government's smear job and I hope they don't give up. Listen to MacKay dismiss Colvin's testimony repeatedly as second, third hand information, despite the ridiculous nature of such dismissals. Unless a person witnesses torture in real time, it's not enough for Sheriff MacKay.

There is also an outrageously cryptic statement from MacKay when asked why, if Colvin is so suspect in credibility, he was promoted to an intelligence position at the Canadian Embassy in Washington: "I suspect that promotion took place long before he gave his evidence yesterday." What? What an outrageous implication from MacKay. Apparently Colvin would never get the post now given what he testified to on Wednesday. Foreign affairs and other public servants be warned. That's one of the ugly sides of this government and MacKay feels no hesitation in publicly demonstrating it.

Also in on the team strategy, apparently, General Hillier. Minimizing, dismissing, mocking. He never read any of Colvin's reports, of course not, why would we expect anyone in leadership at this point to say otherwise? None of them are responsible they just plausibly deny. And he attacks Colvin's qualifications, even though Colvin was the number two diplomat in Afghanistan:

“He appears to have covered an incredibly broad spectrum, much of which I'm not sure he's qualified to talk about.”

Great off the cuff insider sensational fare of the moment for the dinner crowd in Toronto but uninformed and an unwarranted hit.

The Globe provides corroboration to Colvin in an editorial today:

Peter MacKay, the Minister of Defence, and other Conservative MPs, have been impugning the solidity of Mr. Colvin's beliefs that many detainees have been tortured. Mr. Colvin does not stand alone in his conclusions; notably, Graeme Smith of The Globe and Mail, has assembled substantial evidence of such torture.

Smith spoke quite candidly about his experience on CTV's Power Play yesterday. He provides an interesting counter to Hillier, speaking of the harm that Canada's reputation suffers on the ground in Afghanistan as a result of our handing over Afghans to a tortuous regime. "I have met the men who have been tortured..." said Smith. He describes himself as "flabbergasted by MacKay's comments." Worth watching.

It's time to say a resounding NO to the politics of personal destruction the Conservatives are implementing in Canada. And a resounding NO to their propaganda machine. This is a real test.

Other related news, op-ed items:

"Colvin's no dupe."
"Our own little Abu Ghraib?"
"We need a public inquiry."
"Canadian officials discussed torture in 2006."
Hébert: "MPs out of the loop on Afghan torture? Unlikely"[ed: Shouldn't that read "Ministers?"]

Other related blog posts on the torture issue:

July 9, 2007, "Tsk, tsk, General." Here's something Hillier or other military leadership should be asked about when they appear before the Afghanistan Committee (some next week). There is reporting that suggests Hillier was quite involved in documentation pertaining to detainees in Afghanistan despite his protestations:

The office of General Rick Hillier, Canada's top soldier, has halted the release of any documents relating to detainees captured in Afghanistan under the federal Access to Information Act, claiming that disclosure of any such information could endanger Canadian troops.

According to documents made available to The Globe and Mail, the Strategic Joint Staff, a newly created group that advises Gen. Hillier, has been reviewing all Access to Information requests about detainees since March, shortly after the detainee controversy first erupted.

More on that Strategic Joint Staff effort here: January 3, 2008: "If the Canadian public gets information, the Taliban wins."

September 22, 2007: "Afghan detainees missing."

More than a slap on the wrists required

2009-11-20T07:18:00.001-05:00

"Speaker slaps Tory wrists over hyper-partisan flyers." Speaker Milliken has ruled that one of the Conservative ten percenters against NS MP Peter Stoffer was "...a breach of his privileges as an MP and could potentially damage his reputation." Now it moves on to a Commons committee for more examination and there could be a remedy. Maybe. This committee apparently operates by consensus and to date nothing has stopped the barrage of partisan ten percenters, particularly from the Conservatives who have been shown to be abusing this privilege.

An additional complaint has been filed by Liberals over the latest trash from Conservatives and that too may motivate some rules now being initiated on these flyers, content or quantity wise. If this rash of defamatory material doesn't do it, who knows what will.

The answer is not to ban the vehicle completely, that could be what the Conservatives are hoping to accomplish by abusing the privilege and causing outrage. That's what they do (e.g., the Senate). Used properly, they're a means for MPs to connect with citizens and we shouldn't ban such uses of taxpayer money as long as the privilege is exercised reasonably.

Let's hope for some sanity on the issue given the high profile instances in the news now, it's a good time to act.

Update (8:15 a.m.): The Star weighs in with an editorial that captures the vibe on the Conservatives' flyers targeting Jewish voters.

Ever since their near-death experience of last December, when they almost lost power to an opposition coalition, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the federal Conservatives have been working hard to project a more moderate image.

But every so often the curtain is lifted and we get a peek at the nasty partisanship that still animates both Harper and his party.

They are unabashedly embracing this stuff now, they think they are invincible.

Credibility

2009-11-19T16:49:00.000-05:00

Peter MacKay attacking Richard Colvin today:

Mr. MacKay, however, told Parliament that there are “incredible holes” in Mr. Colvin's story.

“There has not been a single, solitary proven allegation of abuse involving a transferred Taliban prisoner by Canadian forces,” he said.

Globe reporting, January 22, 2008:

Compelling evidence that Canadian-transferred detainees are still being tortured in Afghan prisons emerged Monday from the government's own follow-up inspection reports, documents it has long tried to keep secret.

In one harrowing account, an Afghan turned over by Canadian soldiers told of being beaten unconscious and tortured in the secret police prison in Kandahar. He showed Canadian diplomats fresh welts and then backed up his story by revealing where the electrical cable and the rubber hose that had been used on him were hidden.

“Under the chair we found a large piece of braided electrical cable as well as a rubber hose,” reads the subsequent diplomatic cable marked “secret” and distributed to some of the most senior officials in the Canadian government and officers in the Canadian military.

The Globe and Mail has established that the report of the case is recent, written after a Nov. 5, 2007, inspection of the National Directorate of Security prison in Kandahar. That was six months after a supposedly improved transfer agreement was put in place to monitor detainee treatment. The agreement was designed to address problems raised by critics about the ill treatment of prisoners taken by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and handed over to Afghan authorities with insufficient follow-up. (emphasis added)

What more do these Conservatives need? Time for a public inquiry, that's for sure. If a judicial inquiry is good enough for the lost salmon, it's good enough to restore Canada's international human rights reputation.

See related posts:

April 25, 2007: Harper's torture problem getting worse:

The Harper government knew from its own officials that prisoners held by Afghan security forces faced the possibility of torture, abuse and extrajudicial killing, The Globe and Mail has learned.

November 16, 2007: One of the most damning indictments of the Harper government to date:

The Harper government knew prison conditions were appalling long before The Globe and Mail published a series of stories last April detailing the abuse and torture of prisoners turned over by Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan's notorious secret police, documents released this week show.

Mercer does the Economic Action Plan signs

2009-11-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

A follow-up on this item...

Record food bank visits

2009-11-19T09:45:00.000-05:00

While we read this, "Parliamentary restaurant to serve seal meat," where exotic additions are being made to some menus in the land for political reasons, let's not forget this big story: "Food bank visits soar as jobs disappear."

More Canadians than ever before are turning to food banks to make ends meet in recession-ravaged households, Food Banks Canada reports.

Close to 800,000 individuals, roughly the equivalent of New Brunswick's population, visited food banks in March, according to the HungerCount 2009 survey released Tuesday.

That represents an increase of 120,000 users – or about 18 per cent – over March 2008.

"This is the largest ever year-over-year increase in food bank use on record," Katherine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada, a charitable organization that represents most of the country's nearly 700 food banks and works to raise awareness of hunger. (emphasis added)

Sobering food for thought, pardon the pun, as we're spun about the government's stimulus plan creating jobs. Those record numbers are striking.

Smackdown

2009-11-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

Worthwhile exchange to watch here between Liberal MP Irwin Cotler and Conservative MP Joe Preston on the topic of that flyer that was much discussed yesterday. The Conservative m.o. of misrepresentation in full flight yet Cotler firmly refuted the "facts" in the flyer and did so in fighting form, particularly the last minute. Nice to see.

Still for the gun registry

2009-11-19T07:21:00.001-05:00

This item caught the eye yesterday and prompted some thought about the gun registry issue. It's still a big unknown as to what the parties are thinking going into committee on C-391 and whether it will survive a committee vote. Or whether a new piece of legislation might be considered by the Liberals and NDP, as suggested here, in conjunction with killing C-391. That seems a stretch to me but whatever route would defeat the registry killing C-391 is worth considering. For now, for what it's worth, here are some thoughts on why killing C-391 is the good political choice for the opposition, with emphasis on Liberals in particular.

1. This is a time when Conservatives think they're virtually invincible, on the cusp of a majority. Maybe it'd be good to hand them a loss and send a big signal to the Canadian people in doing so. Raise some doubt about that winning perception right now, show that the Conservatives can be beaten.

2. A win of any kind would be good for Liberals at the moment. Don't underestimate the wind (breeze?) that may be at your back with a "win" on an issue, no matter how it's done. Liberals (and other parties) can get a win here simply by defeating a private member's bill. It's cheap, there is no monetary expenditure required, no tv ads to be run, no travelling required. Just vote against it. It's a win simply by defeating a bill that is dear to the Conservatives and this in and of itself is motivating. It's also a win because you can spin it easily enough. "Hey, all we did was defeat a private member's bill, happens all the time, very few of them pass. If the government were behind this gun registry abolition they'd move a government bill on it." You can also easily say you're just maintaining the status quo. The gun registry will be left intact, nothing's changed so let's not lose our heads here. At the end of the day, it's a win for those wanting to keep the registry.

3. It can be used as a small step toward redefining the Liberal party as progressive. You have to distinguish yourself from the Conservatives. Ignatieff has been fond of saying Liberals are the "party of the center where elections are won," but that's not really doing much for the numbers these days. It's not easy, especially while in opposition, to be in the mushy middle on everything. People are lumping Liberals in with the Conservatives, show them it's nonsense. And really, it's not redefining here, it's reaffirming a basic Liberal policy, for gun control.

4. You can afford to ignore the polls on this issue. When it comes to your principles, stick to them, otherwise you're just a pollster, putting your finger to the wind and you'll be blown back and forth and all around. What are the Liberal numbers at lately anyway...28% or so? Aren't the numbers of those supporting the registry around that or a little higher? You're not going to hurt yourself, you might even strike a chord with Quebec voters if you speak to the issue well. Is the next election going to be won or lost on the gun registry issue? Probably not. Grow that base, cultivate it, women, Quebec voters, progressives. If you are perceived as taking a principled stand, the numbers may grow in your favour.

5. You can reach out while standing up for the gun registry. The way in which you act and publicly position yourself while voting to keep the registry counts. You don't have to do it in a way that is dismissive or condescending to those who have legitimate concerns about the registry. Appeal to them by saying OK, it's not perfect, let's try to fix it and pledge to do that in the future. But let's not take a wrecking ball to what we have now, that we've invested in - yes - but which system is up and running now at a manageable cost every year. This is actually an improvement, politically anyway, on the Liberal position, you can say we're not just status quo gun registry, we're status quo but let's have a debate about improvements. We're the party that doesn't tear down and destroy, we fix what's wrong even though that's hard work.

6. You can seize the law and order issue. To an extent, anyway. The police use the registry thousands of times a day yet the Conservatives want to destroy that valuable law enforcement tool. Huh? How can they plausibly be the "law and order" party if that's how they value the police? Turn the issue against them here, do some of that Karl Rove jujitsu (how it pains me to say). Say "we're with the police," over and over.

Again, hard to say what's going to happen here. But there are plenty of ways to handle this politically if the parties can get it together to defeat the bill in committee or perhaps at third reading.

Transcript excerpt of Colvin testimony

2009-11-18T19:14:00.000-05:00

On why Canadians should care about these allegations that Afghan detainees turned over by Canadian military were tortured by Afghans:

According to a very authoritative source, many of the Afghans we detained had no connection to the insurgency whatsoever. From an intelligence point of view, they had little or no value. Frankly, the NDS (Afghan intelligence service) did not want them.

Some of these Afghans may have been foot soldiers or day fighters. But many were just local people - farmers, truck drivers, tailors, peasants; random human beings in the wrong place at the wrong time; young men in their fields and villages who were completely innocent but were nevertheless rounded up. In other words, we detained, and handed over for severe torture, a lot of innocent people.

A second reason Canadians should care is that seizing people and rendering them for torture is a very serious violation of international and Canadian law. Complicity in torture is a war crime. It is illegal and prosecutable.

Third, Canada has always been a powerful advocate of international law and human rights. That is a keystone of who we are as Canadians, and what we have always stood for as a people and nation. If we disregard our core principles and values, we also lose our moral authority abroad. If we are complicit in the torture of Afghans in Kandahar, how can we credibly promote human rights in Tehran or Beijing?

Fourth, our actions were counter to our own stated policies. In April 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said publicly that "Canadian military officials don't send individuals off to be tortured." That was indeed our official policy. But behind the military's wall of secrecy, that, unfortunately, is exactly what we were doing.

And finally, even if all the Afghans we detained had been Taliban, it would still have been wrong to have them tortured. The Canadian military is proud and professional organization, thoroughly trained in the rules of war and the correct treatment of prisoners.

Pressed for time tonight but just wanted to put Colvin's statement out there. Lots of ramifications in what he said, how the Conservatives are reacting, etc., that will be unfolding in coming days.

I like two dynamics surrounding this issue. There's a level of seriousness that attaches itself to this issue that is not a good dynamic for the Conservative partisan approach. Hoping that this will become apparent in coming days. And secondly, the opposition parties are heavily motivated by that very seriousness of the issue, there's an intent to pursue the issue with vigour that seems to jump out at you. This bodes well to me for our political discourse, in terms of rising to the occasion on an issue that merits attention.

Just when you think Conservatives couldn't go any lower...

2009-11-18T17:41:00.000-05:00

They do with advertising on our dollar that pursues a vile form of politics, accusing Liberals of anti-Semitism. Part of the Conservatives' ongoing effort to corner the Jewish vote, some of the most offensive ten percenter flyers to date have been sent out:

The "scandalous" flyers, endorsed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and which target ridings with large Jewish communities, accuse the Liberals of participating in an anti-Semitic conference in Durban, supporting terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah and specifically go after Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for accusing Israel of committing war crimes.

Here's a guy who has a lot of credibility to speak to this and bat this nonsense back:

Montreal Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, himself a Jew, was visibly shaken by the flyer that went to his Mount Royal riding as well as Volpe's riding, Liberal MP Anita Neville's Winnipeg South Centre riding, Liberal MP Bernard Patry's Pierrefonds-Dollard riding and NDP MP Thomas Mulcair's Montreal riding of Outremont.

"This is totally misleading, it's false ... and it basically seeks to associate the Liberal Party with anti-Semitism. This is shocking ... this has no place in Canadian politics," Cotler said.

The former Liberal attorney general noted it was a Liberal government in 2002 that banned financial support to Hamas and Hezbollah.

"Let the facts show ... that it was the Liberal Party in 2002 ... (that) listed Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations. This notion that we somehow sought the delisting of Hezbollah or somehow (we are) indulging terrorism is a scandalous misrepresentation," Cotler said.

The reference to Durban, the controversial UN World Conference against Racism held from Aug. 31 to Sept. 8, 2001, in Durban, South Africa, which provided a platform for anti-Israeli sentiment, is also misleading, the Liberals said.

Cotler said he went to Durban 1 as an observer and noted that the then-Israeli government specifically asked Canada to remain at the conference "and make its voice felt and bear witness to what was happening."

He described the Tory flyer as a "scandalous misrepresentation" of the facts.

Cotler said Ignatieff did accuse Israel of committing war crimes in one instance during the 2006 conflict in Lebanon but later publicly apologized.

What do you say about a government that seeks electoral advantage by trying to pick off voting blocks by appealing to group insecurities, here by appealing to the worst of sentiments? It's head shaking, sad and maddening all at once. The non-stop Conservative electoral campaign knows absolutely no bounds of decency.

Look at the big smile, he stands fully behind his material:

Diplomats ordered to hold back information on detainee torture

2009-11-18T08:00:00.002-05:00

Apparently we have a government who hears reports of torture of Afghan detainees handed over by our military to the Afghans...and their response is stop sending us reports of torture: "Canadian diplomats ordered to hold back information on Afghan prison torture: sources."

Canadian diplomats in Afghanistan were ordered in 2007 to hold back information in their reports to Ottawa about the handling of the prisoners, say defence and foreign affairs sources.

The instruction - issued soon after allegations of torture by Afghan authorities began appearing in public - was aimed at defusing the explosive human-rights controversy, said sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There was a fear that graphic reports, even in censored form, could be uncovered by opposition parties and the media through access-to-information laws, leading to revelations that would further erode already-tenuous public support.

The controversy was seen as "detracting from the narrative" the Harper government was trying to weave around the mission, said one official.

"It was meant to put on happy face," he added.

The instruction was passed over the telephone by senior officials in the Privy Council Office and reinforced in follow-up conferences between Ottawa and Kabul, as well Ottawa and Kandahar, sources said.

What to make of this direction? An affront to the government's human rights obligations. A desire to manage the information to protect the Harper government politically. Possible indifference to the allegations. The message on the issue was sent from the top, from the Privy Council Office too, i.e., hard to believe the Prime Minister didn't know about it.

Implicit in an order to hold back information on prisoner transfers is knowledge on the part of the higher ups that they were hearing something they didn't like and they didn't want to hear any more of it. This direction means somebody, in the Privy Council Office at least, knew there was harmful information being reported back to Ottawa and wanted it stopped. Yet Harper and his ministers deny having knowledge of the torture allegations.

To determine a correct response from the Canadian government, simply interchange "Canadian soldier" with "Afghan detainee" when you consider the issue. That is, ask yourself whether you would want Canadian soldiers handed over to prisons where they might be tortured. The answer is no. As a Geneva Convention respecting nation, that's what we should do with detainees under our control, not hand them over to tortuous jailers, as provided by the Third Geneva Convention, Article 12:

Prisoners of war may only be transferred by the Detaining Power to a Power which is a party to the Convention and after the Detaining Power has satisfied itself of the willingness and ability of such transferee Power to apply the Convention. When prisoners of war are transferred under such circumstances, responsibility for the application of the Convention rests on the Power accepting them while they are in its custody.

Nevertheless, if that Power fails to carry out the provisions of the Convention in any important respect, the Power by whom the prisoners of war were transferred shall, upon being notified by the Protecting Power, take effective measures to correct the situation or shall request the return of the prisoners of war. Such requests must be complied with. (emphasis added)

You can see the problem that would develop if the Harper government were to receive reports of torture and why they may have instituted this policy of please-send-us-no-more-torture-information. There is an obligation to take measures to correct the situation or request the return of the detainees upon being notified about it.

The Harper government may have stifled this story to date by essentially shutting down the Military Police Complaints Commission hearings on the issue, but clearly they only have so much control over the information. We have the above sources in the CP report exposing the Harper government's blackout on information involving detainee transfers. And later today, Richard Colvin, the Canadian diplomat in Afghanistan during 2006 and 2007 who wrote many reports sent back to top foreign affairs and defence department officials warning of torture in the Afghan jails will testify before the Commons committee on Afghanistan. A CBC report gives a preview:

A source familiar with the handling of detainees during the time Colvin was in Afghanistan, said the diplomat could reveal ugly information about the way the government responded to the reports.

The government could end up accused of being simply unwilling to deal with the torture claims or of "looking the other way," as the source put it.

Should be an interesting hearing today.

Excellent planning

2009-11-18T06:29:00.001-05:00

This "split decision" is likely to prove problematic:

The Harper government is making plans to move next year's Group of 20 summit to the Toronto area from the Muskoka region because the demands of lodging and securing the vast retinue of officials threaten to overwhelm the rural Ontario district.

At the same time, federal and provincial sources say, the Conservatives plan to keep the related but separate Group of Eight economic gathering in Muskoka's Huntsville, Ont.

Both events are still expected to take place in June 2010, with the thinking being the G20 would follow the G8.

What? A G8 in Huntsville and a G20 in Toronto makes no sense at all. Why would the separation of the two groups be supported if the thinking was that the G20 was supposed to "supplant" the G8? If the G20's moving to Toronto, it makes sense economically and logistically to have it all in one place. But...we have the G8 stimulus boondoggle in Tony Clement's riding. A $50 million infrastructure fund has been set up for it and if they yank the meeting(s), the money's for nought. Excellent planning by these Conservatives, as always...

Great moments in Dean Del Mastro

2009-11-17T18:39:00.000-05:00

As we behold the great offense taken today by Mr. Del Mastro on the subject matter of his girth, let us recall a classic moment in which Mr. Del Mastro did not hesitate to challenge a fellow MP on totally baseless grounds. This moment occurred in the summer on CTV's Power Play in a panel discussion wherein Mr. Del Mastro proceeded to suggest that Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay was guilty of being "soft" on anti-Semitism:

During a brief discussion on the exclusion of British MP George Galloway from Canada, Mr. Del Mastro accused Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay of being soft on anti-semitism. Yes, that's right. He cited the large Jewish community in Findlay's riding and prodded that she should be standing up against anti-semitism by supporting the prohibition on Galloway. Which undermined the message that had just previously been delivered on the show by Minister Kenney. Kenney was careful to say that the Border Agency had denied Galloway's admission and that it was a security judgment, it was not about free speech said Kenney. Yet there was Del Mastro taunting Findlay as being soft on anti-semitism. [...]

Is this really the kind of politics we need to be seeing from the governing party? They're seriously going to be charging Liberals with anti-semitism? Because that's off the charts, reprehensible, unwarranted, vile, a bridge too far rhetoric. Mr. Del Mastro should apologize to Ms. Findlay if he has any decency. Martha Hall Findlay is an MP whose integrity and judgment is impeccable. To be exposed to such an outlandish accusation on national television is an outrage.

We'll leave it to the readers to weigh the significance of an unfounded charge of being soft on anti-Semitism against a charge of being overweight on the scale of appropriate political discourse over which to feel outraged. (We're so meta-inside-the-Queensway-at this point, one's head could spin.)

But Mr. Del Mastro seems to feel no restraint in levelling charges against others, which is why some of us feel little sympathy for him today.

Everything old is new again? Well, not everything

2009-11-17T18:20:00.000-05:00

Today's OLO staff changes seem to be of more concern to Conservatives than one would think. After all, old Harpie's supposedly on a roll, dancing, why would the new Liberal team be worth taking the time to attack? Why would they bother? Reinforces the perception of puerile Conservatives, no fight is too small for them to engage. The dated sponsorship charge? Come on. That's been investigated ad nauseam. Check out the Auditor General's response to the Dean Del Mastro sideshow effort to resuscitate that bugaboo today for an appropriate adult take on such efforts. She swatted that one away quite handily. It's just plain old news Conservatives are hauling out, quite telling.

Adam Radwanski's piece today has a good sense of the dynamic here, outside the fish bowl, not many could care much who makes up the team of new staffers:

What's less clear to me is why any normal member of the public would want to know much about them at all. I get that Peter Donolo is an engaging character, and that his return to Ottawa is an interesting storyline for political junkies. But the degree of focus on the machinations of the leader of the opposition's office just seems disproportionate to Canadians' level of interest, or to those events' relevance.

This is the backroom stuff that's important to political junkies and the Ottawa crowd, few others. To Liberals across the country, there may be a heartened sense of greater experience on hand, that there's a good calibre of individuals who have been attracted.

Otherwise, moving on...

Our money...Conservative propaganda

2009-11-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

The Globe follows up on the story of the inordinate spending by Conservative MPs on "ten percenters," the propagandistic partisan flyers that have been blanketing the nation in record numbers ever since the Conservatives came to government. This report comes on the heel of Sun Media analysis that demonstrated that 82 of the top 100 MP spenders on these flyers are Conservatives. 19 of the top 20 are Conservatives (Dean Del Mastro at #18 for all the fans out there).

An analysis by Sun Media of spending figures tabled in the House of Commons this week for the year ended on March 31 shows that the cost to taxpayers for MPs printing has soared to $10 million in 2008/09 compared to $5.9 million in 2005.

The Globe notes that Le Devoir has also joined in with its own study on the costing of these ten percenters:

All the parties do it, but the Conservatives have taken to it with zeal: Adding up the costs, the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir found that MPs with the minority Conservatives spent $6.3-million on the mailers, while opposition MPs spent $3.8-million.

The average Conservative spent $38,337, including eight who spent more than $80,000, while the average opposition MP spent $17,977. Ontario Conservative Rick Norlock topped the list at $87,749. (emphasis added)

Those disproportionate numbers Conservatives are racking up to spew their nonsense are crystal clear. No sense of propriety, just in the cookie jar up to their shoulders.

The other major problem with how the Conservatives are using the ten percenters lies in the little request for a return vote on leadership preferences. Essentially, they are culling voters, on the public dime, determining who is likely to support them in the future.

The mailers serve a more sophisticated function than just spreading a political message. Many of them include mail-back coupons, which are used to compile vital mailing lists on which political parties depend to solicit votes, volunteers and money – and that's hard, expensive work.

Is this what the ten percenters were intended for? Party voter list compilation?

Another day more independent confirmation of Conservative largesse on our dime.

Conservative Senator Housakos & friends in the news again

2009-11-17T07:00:00.003-05:00

Three persons described as being "close" to Senator Housakos have received federal appointments in recent months:

Trois proches du sénateur conservateur Leo Housakos ont été nommés à des postes rémunérés de l'administration publique fédérale dans les derniers mois, a appris Le Devoir. Ces trois personnes, près du parti au pouvoir, ont atterri au Conseil arbitral de l'assurance emploi, à Via Rail et à la société d'État Ponts Jacques-Cartier et Champlain inc.

That last appointment to the board of the Crown corporation governing the Montreal bridges is the most intriguing here. Recall the present ethics investigation into Senator Housakos and the fact that a company he was allegedly employed at was awarded a federal stimulus contract by that federal bridge corporation. This report suggests that a political associate of Housakos, Serge Martel, was appointed to that board in December 2008 (during prorogation vacation).

Note that an earlier CP report had already reported on the Via Rail and Employment Insurance appointments referenced in today's Le Devoir report, so I'm not sure why the showy "Le Devoir has learned" intro. But they do provide more detail on the relationships between those two individuals and Senator Housakos.

Conservative hypocritical patronage gets some more attention with this story. Additional scrutiny is likely to be applied now in the ethics complaint involving that stimulus contract. And more questions in the House of Commons likely today...

Harper's big day in India: translated

2009-11-17T05:00:00.001-05:00

Allow me to translate this report on yesterday's "Poli-wood" events as presented by Indian media above:

Anchor dude...Stephen Harper...Akshay Kumar...Olympic Torch. That's about all you need to know.
(Music swells)
Harper passes torch to Kumar, can't believe his incredible good fortune to actually be hanging with a cool guy. Starstruck. Loving sideways glance. Thinks to himself: I am sooo going to rock the Indian vote, just look at this scene!
Cut to priceless shot of Conservative MP Patrick Brown with a look that one can only describe as jealousy at the new guy hanging with the boss and how did I get stuck here at this dud of a table.
Harper does a nod to recent terror event.
Back to hanging with the cool guy. Checking out Olympic threads.
More jealousy, bewilderment at Patrick Brown's table that the cool guy & Harper are checking out Olympic threads.
Cool guy cites Mahatma Gandhi, relates it to torch.
Harper plus cool guy torch footage repeats, the two will live happily ever after. Or at least in Conservative campaign commercials coming soon to an election near you.
Junior reporter sums up. I think he says something about how Harper just couldn't hold a candle to Akshay Kumar's superstardom and was silly to even try. Trust me, I'm fluent.

Slumdog Prime Minister

2009-11-17T00:17:00.003-05:00

From the Mercer archives but in honour of today's appearance:) That's a little more like it...

(h/t)