I am quick to jump to conclusions, and fast to fly off the handle. I admit this because I am passionate. One of the things I am most passionate about it human rights. I believe that torture of any sort, for any reason (like there could be a justifiable reason) is in clear violation of these rights.
The CBC reported on the iacobucci inquiry into the torture of three men. A number of bigotted hateful things were posted in the comment section to which I replied:
PollySci – Who are you to say these men are criminals? Do you know for sure? Do you have evidence the rest of Canada doesn’t? If so, then bring it forth so all can see it in the light of day!
I object to my government torturing my fellow citizens -regardless of who is paying the bill. I object to my government stalling and hiding the truth behind the threat of “national security” and object to the fact that not a single government office has lost their job over this.
Go spew your thinly veiled bigotry elsewhere.
That was prior to the government releasing the details of the inquiry. I had hoped for some form of justice unfortunately it is not to be.
The CBC reported:
The actions of Canadian officials contributed indirectly to the torture of three Arab-Canadian men in Syria, a federal inquiry has concluded.
“I found no evidence that any of these officials were seeking to do anything other than carry out conscientiously the duties and responsibilities of the institutions of which they were a part,” .
They also report:
“It is neither necessary nor appropriate that I make findings concerning the actions of any individual Canadian official, and I have not done so,” Iacobucci wrote.
I have numerous issues with all of this. First is, what consitutes indirect contributions? CSIS and the RCMP provided information to Syria, which made Syria detain and torture these men. I would say that is a pretty direct contribution. If the RCMP had information, they should have used it to detain them here in Canada. They didn’t of course, so that they could deny being involved since “Canada doesn’t torture”
If you think for one second that our government is not a proponent of torture, I suggest you look up terms such as extrodinary rendition, black sites, and Maher Arar.
The second issue I have with this is that claiming these people where jsut doing their jobs, is akin to the claim “I was just following orders”. If these institutions define passing information to foreign countries so Canadian citizens can be tortures, then those institutions need to be dismantled. (Yes RCMP, I am looking at you)
Lastly Iacobucci claims, “It is neither necessary nor appropriate that I make findings concerning the actions of any individual Canadian official…” Wrong! It is abso-fucking-lutely necessary. It is also necessary that that individual be removed from their position of authority.
Hopefully this time Canada will have the stones to hold those reponsible – responsible.