There you have it. A little triumph for real Canadians today.Parliament passes NDP motion for an Inquiry on torture allegationsThank you for your email concerning the recent allegations of prisonertorture in Afghanistan. I am providing this update on our efforts to getto the bottom of the allegations.On December 1, Parliament agreed to pass the motion by New DemocratForeign Affairs critic Paul Dewar calling for a public inquiry over thetorture allegations. From the start, our Party believed that a publicinquiry was needed. We welcome the support of the other oppositionparties who agree with our position.It’s now up to the Harper Conservatives to do the right thing. Inopposition, Mr. Harper spoke of a government’s moral responsibility torespect the will of Parliament, because it was ultimately the democraticwill of Canadians. We want his government to be guided by these wordsand to set-up this public inquiry. Please find attached my speech in Parliament in support of mycolleague’s motion and you can visit the following link to read the textof the full debate:LINK 1Canadians are understandably upset that there is a reluctance to takeresponsibility for these allegations. Transferring detainees to thosewhom are likely to torture them is a violation of international law.However, the Conservative government continues to dodge and dismiss allconcerns about the treatment of prisoners. They’ve concealed evidence,intimidated witnesses and obstructed the Military Police ComplaintsCommission inquiry. We even heard from three Generals who told theAfghanistan special committee that it wasn’t their job to follow up onthe condition of detainees after they were handed over to Afghanauthorities.It is clear that an inquiry is needed. Mr. Colvin’s revelations deserveto be fully examined. And, if required, the appropriate people shouldbe held responsible.New Democrats have been raising concerns about prisoner transfers inAfghanistan since 2006. For more information, please refer to:LINK 2Again, I appreciate hearing from you. Feel free to share my responsewith anyone who may be interested. All the best.Sincerely,Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)Leader, Canada’s New Democrats






While I’m really proud of the work Layton’s achieved on this, I doubt Harper will follow through and will instead be in contempt of parliament.
Unfortunately this was a nonbinding motion. And as someone intimately involved with not one but two nonbinding motions (re war resisters) passed by Parliament that the Harper Govt has completely ignored, I know this does not a torture inquiry make.
The motion passed more than a week ago. We’ve got to keep the pressure on.
You’re probably right. Still, we can dream…and if he doesn’t follow through, there will be all kinds of hell to pay…
Yep…and that we shall.