Opposition MPs tee off on Afghan detainees issue

Opposition parties used their first question period of 2008 to batter the government on the Afghan detainees issue, with a focus on honesty and openness.

"Why did the prime minister hide the truth from Canadians?" Liberal Leader Stephane Dion asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday in the House of Commons.

"That allegation is completely false," Harper shot back.

The Canadian military stopped transferring prisoners to the Afghan authorities on Nov. 6, the day after an allegation of torture was identified.

Dion noted that Defence Minister Peter MacKay was in Afghanistan at the time and yet it took three months for the stoppage to become publicly known.

Harper said the government revealed there was "credible evidence of a particular case of abuse."

The information was revealed to a court last week "to show clearly that the Canadian Forces ... always respect our humanitarian and international obligations," he said in French.

Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff noted that on Nov. 22, MacKay told the House there was not a single proven instance of detainee abuse in Afghanistan.

Given that MacKay was in Kandahar when the abuse case surfaced on Nov. 5, "was the minister asleep, out of the loop, or did he knowingly withhold information from this House?" Ignatieff asked.

"What I said at this time was absolutely true," MacKay said, adding the detainee transfer agreement remains in place.

Under the enhanced May 2007 agreement, Canada has greater access to prisoners and can be more proactive, the minister said.

NDP Leader Jack Layton also focused on the detainee issue, as did Bloc Quebecois MP Claude Bachand.

Layton noted that U.S. authorities issued press releases on prisoner captures and transfers in Afghanistan. "Why is this government ... continuing to keep Canadians in the dark?" he said.

Because the transfer agreement with the Afghan government remains in place, there may be more transfers. "That's why the government hasn't announced there won't be transfers, because there could well be," Harper said.

He added if Canada were to follow the American model, it would be sending prisoners to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"To be clear, that is not the policy of this government," Harper said.

The Manley panel

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe used his questions to ask Harper about the government's response to the Manley panel's recommendations on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.

Harper said earlier he would be holding a vote on extending the mission, which is set to end in its current configuration on February 2009, sometime this spring.

There is a major NATO summit scheduled for April in Bucharest, Romania, at which the issue of more troops to help Canada in the insurgent hotbed of Kandahar province will be discussed.

"Will the prime minister act in a responsible manner and hold the vote on our mission before going to the summit?" Duceppe asked.

"This is a very important issue. I hope all parties in this House will take the time we need to consider the matter and make our decisions," Harper said.

Duceppe said Harper wants Canada to stay in Afghanistan at any price.

Harper said the mission's extension depends on getting additional troop from Canada's NATO allies.

The Liberals avoided the Manley report.

CTV's Graham Richardson told Newsnet that the Manley report -- Manley is a former Liberal cabinet minister -- puts the Liberals in a difficult position. Liberals want to end Canada's combat role in February 2009 while the Manley report recommends the combat part of the mission continue, but shift to increased training for Afghan soldiers and police.

None of the leaders asked questions about the economy despite the recent turmoil.

Some key other key issues likely arise during Parliament's first week back include:

The firing of Nuclear Safety Commission chair Linda Keen; and
The ongoing controversy over former prime minister Brian Mulroney's dealings with German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.

A Jan. 14 Strategic Counsel poll for CTV and The Globe and Mail found party support breaks down as follows:

Conservatives: 36 per cent
Liberals: 30 per cent
NDP: 14 per cent
Bloc Quebecois: 11 per cent
Greens: 10 per cent

For the Liberals, Bloc and Tories, those numbers are essentially the same as their popular vote share in the Jan. 6, 2006 federal election.

The NDP are down 3.5 percentage points from their election total of 17.5 per cent, and the Greens are up 5.5 percentage points from their election total of 4.5 per cent.

Comments are now closed for this story

Don't Believe The Liberals
said

It's sad to see the Liberal party make hay out of nothing.

The military acted properly.

Too bad the Liberals have nothing legitimate to complain about.

Sounds like children crying over milk that wasn't even spilt.

Andrew
said

It is important that POWs are not ill treated by our troops or any troops for that matter. Thank God our troops have the common sense to respect pows and not turn them over to be abused. Given the history of the taliban (public stonings during half time at soccer games) I doubt that any sensible Canadian would think our troops would be cared for as pows if they lived long enough to even get the status of POW. What's the problem the liberals were aware of the pow issue weeks before it became news to canadians yet they did not seem to concerned until the opportunity to scoure political points became available. Lets get on with the issue of governing this country.

Mark G.
said

Another attempt by Dion and Layton to create a scandal over nothing so they can make themselves look good.There is an old saying that the first casualty of war is the truth.Mr. Harper and the government cannot control and know everything there is to know.As far as I am concerned, the Prime Minister is doing an excellent job of governing this country and this fact is being recognized worldwide.The opposition parties are letting their ambitions cloud their judgement.

DougD
said

Harper & McKay were briefed on a situation & because of Operational Security actually kept quiet for several months. Dion & Ignatief were given the same briefing but barely waited a fortnight before revealing all.

The leader of the LIEberal party & his sidekick should both be charged with TREASON.

Canuck
said

Canada is at war. It is not necessary for the government to release every detail on the war. Some things should be kept quiet to protect our soldiers.

catsrulz
said

Just remember people Loose lips sink ships. We DO NOT need to know every single detail that happens in a war

Mel Blake
said

Wow! I had to go through
seven entire responses before someone attacked
George Bush and the United
States about an issue that
has absolutely no connection to him or the
US. The most pressing issue that the opposition
is upset about is transparency. I tend to
lean pro-conservative but
there's a valid point they
goofed on this one, or
at least there's the appearance of it.
I don't think Bush or
the US was responsible.

For info, Canada is involved because Canadians died in the attacks carried out with
the tacit approval of
the Taliban who protected
and supported Bin Laden.

Believer
said

I rather see the Canadian Government take responsibility of the detainees that they turn over to the Afghan Gov, if the system is not yet fixed... That is called doing he right thing... And by announcing that the Gov of Afghanistan is still working some issues doesn't help build confidence among the people of Afghanistan and is only turning more people against the NATO forces as well as the new Afghan Gov... And yes putting more threats against our soldiers... Lets help, mentor and coach the Afghan Gov, and see a nation be reborn... Now doesn't that sound more productive then bitch about something that wouldn't have made the news if the Gov of Canada would have announce the change in policy anyway???

Johnny
said

I find it troubling that the best comments that my left-leaning friends posting comments can come up with is ad hominen attacks like associating Harper with Bush, or calling the Tories CONservatives (I'm looking at you Pat).

Moreover, I am bothered that people claim that those of us who support the Tories are blind or inferior in some way. I am certainly not going to turn against the Tories when they did the right thing on the detainee issue. There was concern about POWs being tortured and so the military took the appropriate action. The Tories did not make that public until they had to. No one has yet been able to tell me why that was wrong. I suppose these people would have us televise troup movement information as well.

These sorts of comments are not constructive and add nothing to intelligent debate.

larry
said

From the information I have; both the Liberals and Conservatives kept the transfer of prisoners quiet at the request of the military... so now its out and so what? It seems the opposition take any opportunity to twist things so that those voters who don't check the facts in an article, get thrown off by the misleading head lines. The media could assume, for a change, that at least some voters have the intelligence to follow facts, rather than untruthful sound bites from the opposition. Taliban prisoners are not my first concern anyway.
As for the economy.. its strong and if we go into recession; they tend to last 10 months on average, then recover.. so why all the concern over tax cuts. We are taxed too high as it is.
I really hope we do the 'right thing' by staying the course in Afganistan to assist these people.

Ed
said

There is no doubt that communications about this event may not have been to the liking of many, but to blow this microscopic item up to such proportions and consume parliamet's time during question period shows just how little REAL NEWS there is.

David from NS
said

With the challenges facing Canada right now, I'm glad we have a strong leader in the PM's chair.

CNN
said

We are allowed to detain combatants for 3 days. 3 days. That's it. Then we get to release them. That's when we wait until shot at again and hold them for another 3 days.

Try fighting a war like that.

Oh wait... we do.

Canuck in Seattle
said

Not hard to tell which idiots vote only one way on here. This issue is important, but there are is no criminal behaviour here. To suggest that this is another example of conservative resplendancy, or of the Liberal's desperately wanted a subject to becry, is stupid.

All you partisan people are sickening.

I think Harper is doing a decent and honest job. This is coming from someone who thinks Mulroney was as bad as Bush. The two are the worst leaders in the history of North America.

Dan Bartie
said

It's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black when Mr. Dion takes exception to Mr. Harper for not releasing the information regarding the change in detainee policy given that Mr. Dion by his own admission was given the same security briefing disclosing the new detainee policy. If it was so critical, why didn't Mr. Dion step forward weeks ago and make it know himself?

Cheryl
said

I cannot believe the assertion that the detainees are no concern of ours and that the Taliban detainees do not deserve our protections or sympathies. Someone else said that if torture was success in retrieving valuable info, than its justified.

First of all, can we be so sure that all of the detainees are Taliban? I think not.

Secondly, why don't we ask Canadian, Bill Sampson if torture elicits credible information. Mr. Sampson was tortured for two years. He was tough and fiesty, but still confessed to what the torturers wanted to hear. The man was beaten, hung by handcuffs to a door frame, sodomized etc. etc. etc. Was that justified? Apparently in Saudia Arabia it was.

And aren't we in Afghanistan to brind democracy to that country? To my mind, democracy does not include torture.

Or, no wait, are we there to find Bin Laden or ....

why are we there again?

Cheryl

Paul out West
said

Take Canada out of Afghanistan in February 2009. I hate to use numbers when it comes to our valiant soldiers but it plays to how incompetent Harper and his Government has been on the Afghanistan File. Harper has been more than dishonest with Canadians on issues in Afghanistan, 70 young Canadians died in Afghanistan since Harper took over power 2 years ago, only 8 killed in the previous 5 years. Harper has changed the mission away from a United Nations mission to his own G.W. Bush style mission. GET US OUT OF THERE IN 2009! Better yet get Harper out of power, please!

Liberals major iin the minors...
said

These chicken littles...ARGH!

The Taliban issue is a non issue. The fact that the Afghans torture their prisoners isn't directly our responsibility nor our fault yet we upon discovering what was going on, stopped the practice so whats the issue Dion?

John
said

From the look of the Conservative way of thinking, the handling and torture of detainees is none of our business then. We do have the Geneva Convention to consider but let's take this the other way. Why would the taliban say anything about torturing our soldiers if they get caught. Then I will be upset if they are not treated under the terms of Geneva as our opposition parties are attempting to treat their people caught.Conservatives making all the posts on here need to remember something, you only make up 1/3 of the electorate, and are outnumbered greatly on this.

Dear Pat_Pending
said

What planet are YOU living on? Liberal brainwashing no doubt! The Conservatives have done lots and because they have the Liberal boiler room cronies headed by none other than Kinsella himself are hard at work running scared trying pathetically to pump up Dion with issues like Taliban prisoners. It is a dead issue.

CLOKE
said

Question? Are we at war? Then the War measures act should be implemented, and any one giving out information of military operations is guilty.
The persons the military have to defend are either for us or against us. And that goes for S. Dion and his sidekick Iggy.
We know Layton is not with us so I would suggest he go and stand guard at a Canadian run prison camp for Afghan detainees.

Dave in Surrey
said

CWS: Harper has already out sourced the Department of National Defense to the Liberals by not allowing Mackay to make a report on Afghanistan, instead asking the Liberals what they would do...

The list of failures keeps on growing from our Conservatives, as we should have expected from such a weak leader and team...

And for those 'Who Cares if they torture Taliban' critics, well I always thought Canada was better than the Taliban and that we would never lower ourselves to their level... It's a shame when we compare our government to the likes of the Taliban...

John
said

As much as many would like to think that this is a very frivolous issue, it goes to the very core of integrity, honesty and being forthcoming. The Liberals are no better than the Tories when it comes to integrity even though they would like us to think so. In my books both parties are doing a very poor job. The economy is close to going back into deficit, more money than is warranted is being spent on a useless war in a Country I could care less about and who could care less about us. Though it will be many years before we see a political leader with vision and true leadership I believe he or she is out there and will be a beacon that most Canadians will be able to rally around. For now we are stuck with five parties void of any leadership or direction. They are only there for their party not Canada. Bottomline.. it's all lies and our courageous soldiers die in vain. The way it's going I might just sit out the next election. Disillusioned with all parties and all politicians. They spend so much time spinning that they wouldn't know the true if it slapped them in the face.

Exiled Canadian
said

The more I hear Dion and Layton, the more thankful I am that we have a Prime Minister who doesn't just look at polls to determine what the RIGHT thing to do is.

I hate to say this but the Liberals are looking more and more like a bunch of amateur statesmen (and women). The NDP and Bloc would fit better in the Russian system - to the left of Putin and his cronies.

The conservatives did exactly what was needed to maintain integrity with both the Afghan government and NATO allies. But, as susual, the Liberals (who knew about this but also said nothing a few weeks ago) will waste no opportunity to attack on insignificant matters to Canadians.

Interesting on how they avoid the entire question of the economy when that is the biggest concern of Canadians right now. Gee, I wonder why?

Heaven help us if any of these folks get to lead the nation.

Mac
said

hmmm, seems like the talking points today issued to Tory supporters said "say the Opposition is wasting Canadians time."

Glenn in BC
said

Somehow, I just can't get excited about whether or not an Afghan national POW is turned over to his own government or not. Instead, why don't they press the government for better treatment of our soldiers and their families?? Layton and Dion contiue heading for irrelevancy along with their pals in the Bloc.

Scott
said

If Harper and McKay DID know about the stoppage in transfers, then they have lied to Canadians.

If they did NOT know about it, they are incompetant and ignorant.

Either way, the complete lack of leadership is obvious to all but the most igorant of voters who will buy ANYTHING Harper feeds them. He has a proven track record of lies and deceit, and the fact that he holds any popular support at all is evidence of the lack of education among voters in this country.

Harper and his regime must go.

Lart from Above
said

Just another example of the Harper government abandoning the hard-fought traditions of peace, order, and good government, and of the Harper government embarrassing Canada on the world stage, and then when they get caught, they blame the Liberals, who at the time were dealing with different circumstances.

Once upon a time, ministers would resign from cabinet for lying to Parliament. But in Harper's Orwellian language, "accountability" is a buzzword used to mean its exact opposite.

Other countries in Afghanistan, when this problem became evident, dealt with it by holding back detainees until they got proper assurances from the Afghan government, and set up a process of inspections to ensure proper treatment. When this problem came to the attention of the Harper government, they chose bluster and coverup instead. This is why the Taliban are winning in Afghanistan. The government is throwing away the gains made by Canadian troops in the field.

superman
said

Taliban prisoner rights. Gee whiz...there is something I am really concerned about. I think Messrs. Dion, Layton and Duceppe should bring down the government over that issue!. They are just playing to the media. Move on.

Map
said

Harper, Mckay, and Bernier remind us of Bush Cheny and Rumsfeld. Harper and his bunch have lied so much they cannot be believed. Their shtick is lie, lie, deny and then lie some more. We are fighting in a country if we stayed in for 10 years, the day we left they would be back to where they were twenty years before we got there. They want our MONEY, and their way of life and religion only.

Jack
said

In the grand scheme of things ...who cares what the Afghanistan gov't does to a bunch of cut-throat animals? I sure as hell don't. Perhaps our troops should "take no prisoners". Problem solved.

Pat_Pending
said

Pete: On what planet are you living on? The CONservatives have done flat out NOTHING on the economy. They inherited a strong economy and balanced books from the last liberal government, and so far they have done their best to screw things up.

Afghanistan, Isotopes, lies, cover ups, arrogance, broken promises (remember income trusts?). It's a sad state of affairs - that's why they are going nowhere in the polls.

As for Afghanistan - I say we pull out. Have an election on it if necessary - but pull out now.

CWS
said

If we do not have Harper and Conservatives in power, then who are we going to have? There really doesn't seem to be any real alternatives. Just can't fathom Dion or Layton as Prime Minister.

Rona from Canmore
said

Afghanistan is a sovereign country and has the legal responsibility for Afghan prisoners. International law prohibits the transfer of prisoners if there is reason to suspect abuse or torture, yet the NATO-led ISAF is turning a blind eye to what is happening to the detainees.Prisoners have been whipped, exposed to the cold and deprived of food. There is proof because they have been visited by ISAF staff. The Brits have confirmed the incidences of torture and are investigating, not sweeping under the carpet like the Harper government.

MJ Thompson
said

I hope Dion tries to make this an election issue. Like myself most Canadians will put "Afghan Detainees" at the bottom of the importance list!

WHO REALLY CARES!

Po
said

I think I know why the Conservatives are still ahead in the polls, no one voting for them is even looking at the news or caring about what this government does... nothing about their "great" leader seems to phase them, not his wooing of Quebec with big truckloads of money, not his revised stand on Income Trusts, not his support of Israel, not his buddy-buddy relashionship with Bush, not his appointing of complete incompetents to the environment portfolio... so apparently nothing.

And he still hasn't done anything for the middle class... I'm middle class and GST doesn't really do anything for me... corporate tax breaks either. Now I would have liked a personal income tax break but with the 2 other cuts he made, apparently he couldn't afford that one.

Johnny
said

I am not entirely sure what the Tories did that was wrong. The military was found one indication of torture, and they took action. The government saw no reason to potentially endanger the soldiers by divulging that information. The fact is that the proper actions were taken in the detainee torture matter.

I agree that people who do not like Harper are indeed blowing this issue out of proportion to mar him. Unofficial Liberal Party advocates like Jane Taber being the worst of the bunch.

She went on yesterday on Question Period about how terrible this is, yet never told us why. She also never told us why it was all right that Dion kept the matter quiet.

As for questions about Harper's leadership, I will agree that he has made mistakes, but at least I know where he stands on most of the issues for better or for worse. I don't know where Dion stands on most policies, such as Afghanistan.

Josh in Ontario
said

Derek:
I don't understand the position you seem to be defending. Canadian troops find evidence of torture in afghan prisons, so they no longer hand prisoners over to afghan officials. The conservatives deemed this information sensitive to the mission, and decided not to speak out. Secondly Derek, since you seem to be so obsessed with liberal partisanship, you should know that the liberal party denounced the introduction of the Goods and Services tax under Mulroney because it would be �damaging to the economy�, now they are saying the same when Harper attempts to decrease it. So I ask you, is having a GST good for the economy, or not. You can�t have it both ways.

Don
said

Here is the question we must ask. Are Afghan/Taliban detainees tortured by Canadians? The answer is...no. If the Afghan authorities want to twist a few nipples, that's their business. These criminals are subject to the laws and customs of Afghanistan. We are helping the Afghans rid their country of these religio-terrorists and it is no concern of mine what happens after being captured and handed over to Afghan custody. These people have chosen their path, so the consequences are on them. Hand-wringing politicians who have never served in the forces also have no right to critcize. Riding around in a tank for a photo-op is not service. Get on with the business of our country you dolts!

R from Sask
said

It's funny to see comments on how the conservatives and harper has done a good job, frankly I don't see how he has done a good job, and neither has his party. The economy was already hot when his party came into power and we were running surpluses under the liberal government.

Is the Conservative government more transparent in how their message was when they were running to become our government? I'd say not seeing how every MP has to shut up on every single issue, we are not being told the truths in Afghanistan and so forth. The more things are hidden the more we will find that this government isn't for us and possibly come across a few more scandals like the Brian Mulroney days.

If you ask me, I would prefer a party who talks to the people and if they have done wrong including scandals at least it was brought up in the open rather than having MP's so tight lipped. It's time for the Conservative gov't to go they shown they cannot be trusted as they have to much to hide.

Vince M.
said

What Dion is doing was once called "Giving comfort to the enemy" and the penalties were severe.

Why on Earth should the Canadian public be concerned about the welfare of a bunch of terrorists who would cut our heads off if they had the opportunity?

kevin
said

The opposition want to vote on the mission extension before the NATO summitt. Typical! Let's vote before we know whats going on with NATO how absolutly stupid!!! Or lets do the NDP thing and just say no!! Regardless of changing circumstances or the good that is being done. We spent 13 years educating our children to the high school level does anyone actually beleave we can educate a nation in less time. Everyday Afghans are educated and exposed to new ideas...please lets stick it out and make a difference.

Ryder
said

I find it very interesting on how the Liberals are chastising the Conservatives on this issue. If memory serves me correctly, was it not the Liberals that put us in Afghanistan and that the prisoner hand-over was happening even before the Conservatives were in power. I wonder how the shoe would fit on the other foot Dion?! Can you say, "HYPOCRITES"; I can. Maybe the military should keep all Afghanistan information classified and not tell anyone. No wait, then the opposition would claim that the conservatives were not being "Transparent".

Laurie
said

The Taliban are known to have committed all manner of atrocities, particularly against teachers, women and children.

It is curious has to how the Liberals arrived at their two positions on Afghanistan:

1. Protect Taliban detainees.

2. Get out of Afghanistan and leave Afghanis to the mercy of the Taliban.

Wayne
said

Thank god we have Harper sitting in PM"s chair. Tough decision but the right thing to do. I started out as one of the Harper haters as I as well as others thought that there was some sort of hidden agenda involved but I have to say for the record that his decisions so far always line up with the right thing to do as well as strategically brilliant and in point of fact I think that is what drives the Harper Haters to the point of frothing at the mouth as there is nothing worse than someone who tries to do the right thing and not what is popular. I used to be a Liberal but am now considering looking more closely at the local Conservative candidate so that I can prepare to vote conservative next election. Though I have to be honest I am not sure that I want a Conservative majority I would rather see another Conservative minority over any other option I can see at this time.

LS
said

Craig and Shawn are correct. This whole thing is blown up by the media and the indignant fake outrage of Dion. Noboby other than the Military and the government of the time has any excuse or reason to know details that are Operational Security issues that can risk our troops.

Al
said

Some of the comments made here indicate that Mr. Harper is not a leader, and I agree as far as leadership goes, but he is the Prime Minister and the people put him there. We will always have a minority government for that very reason. There are no real leaders in any of the existing parties. Jack Layton would be my choice for leader if I had to pick someone. At least he appears to be concerned about ordinary people especially seniors who seem to be forgotten. Take a serious look at the poverty seniors in this country are enduring while pension plans earn billions of dollars. Where are those dollars going?

Devon K.
said

This government really impresses me. I don't mean that as some partisan hack but I'm genuinely impressed. On Saturday I bought a new Jeep. The GST cut saved me around $530. I'm an average working guy not some rich dude.

I see there were comments about this government possibly putting us into deficit. I really question this because they put in place like the Liberals used to have a $3 billion contingency to their budget and still project a $3 billion surplus. Thats $6 billion of padding on the Federal finances. Factor in that the UI Fund and CPP are both in record territory where's the panic coming from?

Derek
said

Response to Craig:

When Mr. Harper was asked in the House about allegations of torture, he accused Liberals of being allies with the Taliban rather than investigate. When he wouldn't act, the military did. That is not being a leader.

When Linda Keen did her job ensuring nuclear safety (read her job description), she was fired because Harper said she was a partisan hack. She was a nuclear expert. He took his cues from his safety advisor Homer Simpson.

Investing in research and development is what our economy needs. Retraining workers is what our economy needs. Ensuring that canada is competitive on the world stage with Interest Deductibility policies (something Harper had to flip on) is what our economy needs. Harper's 1% GST cut that cost $5.5 billion dollars isn't going to stimulate the economy.

barry
said

The lies never stop. I, like a majority of canadians, are tired of being misled and lied to constantly. This government thinks the people should be kept in the dark for their own good.

Craig
said

Mr. Van Loan is right. Ordinary Canadians don't care about these supposed scandals. It looks like the only people that seem to get offended are the continual Harper haters here, that is, those people that latch onto any story so they can take a pot-shot at the Prime Minister.

Derek: Harper is not a leader? Then why is it EVERY world leader he has met with one-on-one has had nothing but praise? How come people are coming out of the woodwork declaring that they are proud that Canada has once again started taking stands on issues?

Also, you must have missed the basic economy classes in school. Tax cuts are used to FIGHT recessions. They promote consumption and spending which increases GDP and GNP.

Sean Calder
said

From an associated story: PMO 'lied' about Afghan prisoner transfers: Dion

"The Liberals did not go public with the information -- which has now been made public in a court case -- because it was relayed at the time in a confidential briefing."

Because it was relayed at the time in a a confidential briefing. So, it's okay for the Liberals not to say anything about it, even after their return, but it's NOT okay for the Conservatives not to say anything about it.

What makes Liberal briefings more confidential than the Conservative briefings? I'll guarantee you that the answer is nothing. Dion and Ignatieff both knew that they couldn't and shouldn't say anything about the change in policy.

And even if they WERE allowed to say something, they chose not to. Why? Probably because they wanted to use it to partisan advantage.

S
said

Wow, I think it is time the opposition focused on something more important. I mean come on......you guys are wasting our money talking about something that is really not that important. My personal opinion is that there is too much info given out by the media about what goes on over in Afghanistan to begin with and that can endanger the troops. Its time for the opposition to focus on the country and not trying to dig up whatever dirt they can about their opponents. It is way too high school......what a fine example they are setting for our children

John
said

OK so the diplomats and the army in Afghanistan asked these liberals to keep quiet about the transfers, what makes the liberals think that the army did not tell the government that it would be a good idea not to talk about this too.

As for protecting against recession, how do we stop a world wide recession?

Another boring sitting with nothing useful getting done and an opposition nit-picking about non-issues, some that even go back almost 20 years, why fight about something they could not even fix?

Julie
said

It is incredible that our democracy like the Americans has been stolen by the people we elect to lead us. Harper and his government, like the Bush administration, make decisions that go against the the fundamental responsibility a government has to its people. This responsibility is that they don't mislead us and that they govern for the well being of the majority not the business elite. Give me a break about their tax cuts, what a joke!! Only on group of people save money with a GST cut, and thats the upper echelon who can afford to spend lots of money not the average Joe who save $1.00 everytime he spends $100. It is making me sick the amount of times lately this government has violated the people who gave them the mandate to govern. Will the Harper government ever govern for the people an not just to maintain power? Its time for this government to go!

Pete
said

The Conservatives have done an excellent job of running government particularly in the area of the economy... Whenever Liberal Leader Dion takes a stand on something... like Afghanistan, his plans are shot full of holes. What Canada is doing is working.

Fay from Manitoba
said

From where I see it, the government is concerned about the treatment of Canadians. Isotope production for cancer and heart patients, protection for our Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. The opposition and the MSM care more about Linda Keen and the Taliban that are weekly killing Canadians with roadside bombs. I believe there has been one confirmed torture of a Talban Detainee by Afghan prison gaurds versus 78 Canadian soldiers killed by Talban!!!!! Do the MSM think Canadians are stupid?

Derek
said

These are very important issues.

Torture and the way Mr. Harper continues to mislead Canadians is very serious.

The way Mr. Harper emptied the federal reserve with all those tax cuts has left the government unable to act in the face of a possible recession.

Very dangerous times. Mr. Harper is not a leader.

Paul
said

Afghan detainees........can we go to election so taxpayer money is not wasted on such stupid things. I don't agree with everything Harper does but with the Libs...wow, they got to add something meaningful.

Allan Eizinas
said

If the Conservatives are really serious about Afghanistan then Harper can make the vote on an extension till 2011 a vote of �confidence�.

It has worked before and it may work again.

Perhaps not.

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It is about time - as a grandparent I have watched our kids (who were allowed to fail although I do remember some nagging on our part) learn, I have watched our children now micro-manage their children. A big part of it is the fact that there are predators out there and an extreme reluctance on the parents part to alllow freedom that might result in the children becoming victims.

Harvey

Parents must learn to stop meddling, author urges

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