Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Unfit for duty - Wednesday May 2, 2007
Over the past 15 months, Gordon O’Connor has demonstrated he is unfit to serve as the Minister of Defence. The NDP’s calls for his resignation have grown louder as the Harper government continues to deliver confusion and contradiction to ordinary Canadians.
NDP Leader Jack Layton asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and his Minister of Defence, to respond to allegations that Afghans detained by Canadian troops and handed over to local authorities are being brutally tortured.
Instead of straight answers, the Harper Conservatives gave ordinary Canadians a day-by-day patchwork quilt of inventions and fabrications.
When Canadian troops are asked to put their lives on the line, they deserve a clear mandate and a leader who knows what he’s doing – Gordon O’Connor is not that leader.
What they're saying about Gordon O'Connor
- “The big question here in Ottawa is how long can Gordon O'Connor, the Defence Minister, last? I mean he is incompetent. And he has not been able to do this job very well.”Robert Fife, CTV Newsnet, April 27
- “The once proud Mr. O'Connor now finds himself gagged on the front bench while third-stringers try to explain the latest version of what's happening in his department.”Don Martin, National Post, April 28
- “It should not be beyond the competence of the defence minister, after 15 months in office, to come up with an effective way to do these inspections. If it is, we need a new one.”Lorrie Goldstein, The Winnipeg Sun, April 30
- “O'Connor is now dead minister walking, the collateral damage of a risky cabinet appointment and inept crisis management.”James Travers, Toronto Star, May 1
March 13, 2007
- NDP defense critic Dawn Black says Gordon O’Connor is unfit for duty. NDP calls for Defense Minister to resign.
April 23, 2007
- The Globe and Mail details allegations of abuse of 30 detainees, including savage beatings, electrocution and extreme cold.
- Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor calls the report "rumours" and says that the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission is responsible.
April 24, 2007
- Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission says it does not have access to most detainees.
- The government says there are no accurate reports, and that these are Taliban rumours.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says prisoners will continue to be handed over to Afghan police, despite the allegations and says humane treatment of prisoners is "a radical thought for a lot of people in that part of the world."
April 25, 2007
- Government report on Afghanistan is released that says torture and extra judicial killings are "routine" – the government attempted to censor the document by blacking out all references to torture.
- NDP Defence Critic Dawn Black files a formal request with the information commissioner to investigate the government’s denial and censoring of the report.
- O'Connor stuns Foreign Affairs Committee by announcing that “Within the last few days we basically have made an arrangement with the government in the Kandahar province so that we can have access to our detainees."
- Foreign Affairs Minister about the agreement.
Hillier also contradicts O'Connor's claim that Defence officials would be responsible for the prison monitoring.
April 26, 2007
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says there is no formal agreement with Afghanistan guaranteeing access to detainees. - Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day claims Canadian officials in Kandahar have had access to detainees all along.
- Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor is silent.
April 27, 2007
- Facing a barrage of scrutiny, Gordon O'Connor skips question period.
April 30, 2007
- Conservative government reveals that Corrections Canada staff had heard at least two first hand reports of torture. This was the first instance Conservatives acknowledged the existence of reports of torture despite repeated questioning from the NDP.
- Human Rights Watch representatives say they notified the Conservative government of reports of torture on November 28, 2006.
- O’Connor skips another session of question period. His staff deny rumours the unfit Minister will resign over the scandal.
# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 8:59 PM 
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