Canada needs an anti-torture act.

This is from the Vancouver Sun. This is the strongest condemnation I have seen of the government's position. There were a few articles in the mainstream media but the whole issue vanished quickly in favor of the next murder, or the next casualty in Afghanistan. Iacoubucci is supposed report by the end of this month but he obviously will need an extension. I doubt that there will be any further public sessions. At least the last one revealed the government's thinking on torture. Of course we also know that the US and Israel were wrongfully mentioned as torturers in a government manual which now must be re-written in the interest of political correctness but not of course in the interests of speaking the truth.

Canada needs an anti-torture act
Tom Sandborn, Special to the Sun
Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Canadians all know who Maher Arar is.

He's the Canadian who ended up in Syrian torture chambers because reckless information sharing by Canadian security forces created-- in the minds of those with far more power than principle -- the false impression he had something to do with terrorism.

But far fewer of us are aware of the cases of three other Canadians who seem to have been similarly victimized in Syrian and Egyptian torture chambers -- Muayyed Nurrredin, Ahman Abou El Maati and Abdullah Almalki.



Our ignorance about this further nightmare, with its suggestion that Canadian complicity with torture has become systemic, is in part the result of the restrictive terms of reference imposed upon the Iacobucci inquiry and in part due to commissioner Frank Iacobucci's refusal to use the discretion given to him in the terms of reference to open up the inquiry to the public.

This secret hearing is undemocratic and is a violation of civil liberties and human rights. It has also forced the B.C. Civil Liberties Association to withdraw its participation this December from what has become an exercise in official obfuscation.

However, last week, in a rare open session, the Iacobucci inquiry heard from justice department lawyer Michael Peirce who made the extraordinary claim that the United Nations Convention Against Torture is not a factor when Canada decides whether to send information on Canadians to torture-prone countries such as Syria and Egypt.

This claim is both morally and legally suspect.

Canadians expect better from our government. Torture is always wrong, and no claims of national security can change that fact.

In addition to being fundamentally evil, torture is wrong even on a pragmatic test. Under torture, victims will confess to anything to end their pain, ensuring that "intelligence" garnered in the torture chamber is unreliable indeed.

Canada should adopt the draft Anti-Torture Act legislation the B.C. Civil Liberties Association proposed to Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Bloc members of Parliament last year.

This bill would clearly define torture and make it illegal for Canadian officials to hand over prisoners or information to known torturers.

We believe that the vast majority of Canadians are opposed to torture.

If you agree, and want to know more about the proposed legislation and how you can support its adoption, visit the B.C. Civil Liberties website at: www.bccla.org

Tom Sandborn is a board member of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.