News Summary and Comment:
In an interesting development, the Liberals have been drawn into the Afghan detainee controversy — as a guilty party, that is. It appears that a retired Foreign Affairs diplomat tried to warn Paul Martin‘s government of the very same concerns about torture that Richard Colvin raised in 2006 and 2007. She was met with the same indifference.
This should surprise nobody, because the core players — the bureaucrats running Foreign Affairs — would have been the same. If the Liberals were smart about this, they would embrace this revelation and say that it provides one more compelling reason for the public inquiry they’ve been calling for. They could sell it as coming clean, proof that they’ve reformed their errant ways since the Sponsorship Scandal. It would serve as an excellent contrast to the government’s resistance, too. But will they do this? My bets are on no.
Meanwhile, the CSIS is working on becoming the first-ever candidate for my yet-to-be implemented Memory Hole Award. The issue: the RCMP file on Tommy Douglas, father of Canada’s single payer universal health care. When presented with a hypothetical situation comparing files on Tommy Douglas to hypothetical files on Louis Riel, it seems that the government lawyer, Gregory Tzemenakis, took offense. He felt it was “unfair” to compare the two. The access officer responsible for the file argued Douglas file was only “very old” while any Riel file would be “very, very old.” Hilarious.
Tzemenakis, by the way, is the same lawyer who defended the government in my case, and was caught lying by the justices at least twice — one, on the nature of my whistleblowing report, and two, about my avenues of recourse. I’m sure he goes home every night, kisses his wife and kids, and settles into a comfortable, guilt-free dinner, satisfied with his defence of Canadian democracy.
The Department of Public Works and Government Services is back in hot water, it seems. This time it’s over outrageous building maintenance fees that went unchallenged by department officials. How outrageous? Try almost $2000 for two plants and a $1000 doorbell, amongst other things. One has to wonder whether it was simple incompetence or if envelopes of cash were involved in that little oversight. The Minister, who is shocked — shocked, I say — has promised an audit.
Finally, a more humorous note, the Legislature of Nova Scotia has been awarded the tongue-in-cheek Teddy Award for “Outrageous Nova Scotia MLA Expenses” by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. A well deserved “honour”, indeed.
Have a good weekend.
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Afghan Detainee Controversy Ensnares Liberals
CSIS Continues Fight to Keep Tommy Douglas Files from Public
N.S. MLAs Earn Teddy Award from Canadian Taxpayers Federation for Outrageous Expenses
Public Works to Audit Maintenance Contract after Over-billing Exposed
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Afghan Detainee Controversy Ensnares Liberals
PM defends spy agency’s Afghan role
CBC News, March 8, 2010
Summary: Prime Minister Stephen Harper has defended the role of Canada’s spy service in the questioning of Afghan prisoners, saying the agency respects its “international obligations at all times.”
Détenus afghans: l’opposition exige une enquête publique
La Presse, March 8, 2010
Summary: Les révélations selon lesquelles des agents du Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité (SCRS) ont joué un rôle crucial dans les interrogatoires de prisonniers talibans justifient la tenue d’une enquête publique sur le traitement réservé aux détenus afghans capturés par les troupes canadiennes, estiment les partis de l’opposition.
Tories focused on message as detainee issue grew
CBC News, March 10, 2010
Summary: The Conservative government was focused on communications as it tried to deal with growing questions about the treatment of Afghan detainees in 2007.
Afghan detainee torture risk raised in 2005
CBC News, March 10, 2010
Summary: A Canadian diplomat with extensive experience in Afghanistan says she raised the possibility that detainees transferred from Canadian to Afghan custody were at risk of torture back in 2005, but her concerns were ignored.
Foreign Affairs officials summoned as Afghan detainee probe nears public phase
Winnipeg Free Press, March 10, 2010
Summary: Foreign Affairs officials have been called to testify before a probe into Canada’s transfer of Afghan detainees — despite a court ruling that limited the inquiry’s ability to delve beyond military ranks.
Afghan detainee impasse: Iacobucci could help
The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax), March 10, 2010
Summary: Let’s be clear. The Conservatives have behaved abominably on this file, stonewalling, stalling and smearing public servants who, after all, were only doing their duty by testifying truthfully about what they knew about the possible torture of Afghan detainees handed to local officials by Canadian forces. Justice Iacobucci’s appointment may be another delaying tactic, but we suspect it will yield some worthwhile answers. (Editorial)
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CSIS Continues Fight to Keep Tommy Douglas Files from Public
Tommy Douglas file not old enough for release: CSIS
The Star (Toronto), March 5, 2010
Summary: If Louis Riel had been hanged in 1885 because of an informer among his Metis rebels, Canada’s spy agency might still be blocking release of that history-changing revelation 125 years later. That hypothetical scenario was put to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service last week as part of a legal battle over the government’s refusal to fully disclose decades-old intelligence gathered on socialist icon Tommy Douglas. The agency couldn’t say for certain whether it would release the identity of Riel’s hypothetical betrayer or withhold the information on the basis of national security.
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Public Works to Audit Maintenance Contract after Over-billing Exposed
Minister orders review of ‘unacceptable’ invoices
The Gazette (Montreal), March 10, 2010
Summary: The federal government promises to audit and review a contract with a Montreal-based firm that manages government office buildings after learning that federal taxpayers paid $2,000 to buy two plants and more than $18,000 to clean the offices of a minister and a top bureaucrat over a six-month period.
Public Works paid $1,000 for a doorbell
The Star (Toronto), March 11, 2010
Summary: Red-faced public works officials are scrambling for explanations after revelations they paid $1,948 for two plants and $1,000 for a doorbell for federal government offices.
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N.S. MLAs Earn Teddy Award from Canadian Taxpayers Federation for Outrageous Expenses
MLAs waste-deep in honour
The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax), March 11, 2010
Summary: Nova Scotia MLAs earned national recognition in Ottawa on Wednesday, but not the kind they want. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation gave a Teddy award for government waste to “Outrageous Nova Scotia MLA Expenses.”
