Letter: Will GG continue the detainee investigation?

WILL THE GOVERNOR GENERAL CONTINUE THE DETAINEE INVESTIGATION?

Will Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean and The Hon. Prime Minister Stephen Harper work with all concerned parties in the forming of an open and accountable Commission to investigate the Afghan detainee controversy?

If they don’t it seems that democracy in Canada is not where it was in 1872.

In 1872, a controversial prorogue shut down a Commons Committee investigating the Conservative government. Despite all of this, the Governor General (with the cooperation of then Prime Minister John A. MacDonald) commissioned 3 judges to conduct an inquiry – that was completely open and accountable – and had full powers to summon witnesses under oath and any documents it felt appropriate. The Commission concluded its work while Parliament was prorogued and submitted its findings as soon as they returned. (*It was The Governor General who put forward this idea*)

This is a great piece of extremely dramatic Canadian history. When properly scrutinized it seems to offer striking parallels (and perhaps a way forward) during our current national predicament.

I have thoroughly put forward all of this information in an open letter to the Governor General. Her official website defines her role thusly:
“As Governor General, Her Excellency wants to create a space where, more than ever, dialogue prevails and the words of citizens are heard.”

She has spent time and money (perhaps public?) to create this “space”. Yet she has not used it to say anything regarding the most significant thing she has done to date.

Please read my letter and consider all this information. I think you will agree that Her Excellency is obligated (by moral and professional duty) to, at the very least, answer this question.

Sean Devlin
Vancouver, BC

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My letter can be read below or found on The Governor General’s Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=12568&uid=143074646111

To Her Excellency
the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.
Governor General of Canada,

I would like to congratulate you on the honour bestowed upon you last night, by the Canadian people & the CBC’s program “The Hour”. By popular vote you were crowned Canada’s “Top Newsmaker of 2009″. Host George Stroumboulopoulos explained that you were chosen for “bringing relevance back to a position that was considered ceremonial”. Your official website explains this by stating: “As Governor General, Her Excellency wants to create a space where, more than ever, dialogue prevails and the words of citizens are heard.”

So I have no doubt that you will welcome my letter and help to facilitate a dialogue regarding its contents.

First, I must make a confession. I am not a historian, a lawyer or even a college graduate. In fact, in high school I slept through many Canadian history classes. However, I have greatly matured since those days and on New Year’s Eve 2010 I tried to redeem myself. I stayed up all night reading a Canadian history book entitled “Canada under the administration of the Earl of Dufferin”. Published in 1878, the book is a thorough account of the political and social events which transpired in Canada while Lord Dufferin served as our 3rd Governor General. The book is particularly interesting because of its focus on the role the Governor General played during this period.

I admit I did not read the entire book. I only read the 3rd Chapter which runs 132 pages and is almost entirely devoted to the “Pacific Railway Scandal of 1872″, popularly known as Canada’s “First Political Scandal”. When examined in depth this dramatic piece of Canadian history appears to present some valuable lessons regarding our country’s current controversial situation.

When I say “current controversial situation” I am referring to the Afghan Detainee controversy, and the role it may or may not have played in the decision to prorogue parliament (Dec.30.2009).

I am not trying to stir up “old news” as some have called it. Rather, I’m trying to point out a way forward that may be agreeable to all parties involved (Your Excellency, Our Prime Minster the Hon. Stephen Harper and his government, the Opposition Parties and most importantly, the Canadian People). Again, I am not an expert in any of these matters so please feel free to reply with any corrections you may have.

In the interest of “getting to the point” I will not delve into the all the sordid details of the Afghan Detainee controversy here. Instead I have attempted to provide a brief, factual summary (those already abreast of the situation may wish to skip ahead to “MOVING FORWARD, TOWARDS THE TRUTH”).

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AFGHAN DETAINEE SUMMARY

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Richard Colvin (a senior Canadian Diplomatic Official in Afghanistan) has alleged that Canada was taking six times as many detainees as British troops and 20 times as many as the Dutch, stating that “According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over [to Afghan police] were tortured.”

As you no doubt are aware The Geneva Conventions make it a war crime to transfer prisoners to those who would abuse them.

Mr. Colvin made this testimony on November 18, 2009 to the Commons Committee on Afghanistan. Since then further evidence has come before the Afghan Committee which suggests that their may be truth in Mr. Colvin’s statements. The pressure to find answers mounted with the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois passing a motion (Dec.10.2009) by a 145-143 vote that calls for the release of thousands of uncensored documents on Afghan prisoners. Parliament adjourned on this same day, thankfully however the Afghan Committee was free to continue its investigation. At that time the Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised the Afghan Committee would get “all legally available documents”.

Then on December 15th, 2009, Conservative MPs did not show up for a meeting of the Afghan Committee. This caused some in the media and the public to wonder whether the Conservative Government was trying to shut down the Afghan Committee. One absent Committee member, Laurie Hawn assured Canada that “We haven’t shut it down at all. We’re simply saying that there was no urgency to have this particular meeting in Ottawa before Christmas.” That seemed fair enough. However, this would lead us to believe that after Christmas the Committee’s work would resume.

What happened was exactly the opposite. On December 30th, 2009 our Prime Minister the Hon. Stephen Harper submitted a request to you that parliament be prorogued. In a discussion over the phone you granted his request using your authority as the Governor General of Canada.

This rare and serious action halted Parliamentary business until March 2009. It also had the effect of shutting down the Afghan Committee and effectively erasing all the official progress it had made to date.

The government insists that this was not the motivation for the proroguing. However, no one can dispute that it was at the very least, a consequence.
Up until December 30th, 2009 the Government officially supported the Afghan Committee as the proper forum through which to investigate this urgent matter.

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MOVING FORWARD, TOWARDS THE TRUTH

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The question many Canadians have now is “what will replace the Afghan Committee as the proper forum through which to investigate the torture controversy?”

This is where I believe the Pacific Railway Scandal of 1872 may be able to offer an agreeable way forward.

In April of 1872 an allegation was put forward in the House of Commons regarding questionable behaviour on the part of the Hon. John. A. MacDonald’s Conservative government and the contract they had issued to build the Pacific Railway.

All parties cooperated in the forming of a Commons Committee to investigate the matter. However, through a dramatic series of events which I won’t go into here, parliament was prorogued on August 13th, 1872. This had the similarly unintended effect of ceasing all investigation into the matter.
However, what Prime Minister MacDonald and Governor General Dufferin did next made all the difference. They acknowledged that truth was not something that should be delayed and they appointed three respected, non-partisan judges to form a Commission and conduct the investigation the Commons Committee had originally been tasked.

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They insisted on the organization of a tribunal which should have power to examine witnesses on oath. No other Court of Enquiry would suffice. They (MacDonald’s Government) were willing to give sworn testimony themselves, and they asked their opponents to furnish the same in return. *(1)
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On August 14th, 1872 the Governor General signed a commission to the 3 judges which contained the following:

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“We do authorize and require you, as such Commissioners, with all convenient dispatch, and by and with all lawful ways and means to enter upon such enquiry, and to collect evidence and to summon before you any parties or witnesses, and to require them to give evidence, on oath or on solemn affirmation, if they be parties entitled to affirm in civil matters, and to produce such documents and things as you may deem requisite, to the full investigation and report of the matters and statements aforesaid.” (*2)
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With the interests of true democracy in mind, they even went so far as make the process completely open and accountable to the public.

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It was decided to make the Court of Enquiry an open one… Seats were provided for the reporters of daily newspapers, and the public could enter the Courtroom whenever they pleased…On the 23rd of September, 1872 the Commission advertised for all persons having any information on the subject of the enquiry, (*3)
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The enquiry was conducted with all of Canada free to watch. The Commission concluded its work before the Parliament returned from prorogue and submitted its findings on the first day of their return.

As I learned this all in the wee hours of 2010 I was proud to find that our first Prime Minister and our 3rd Governor General had conducted themselves so excellently in the midst of controversy. Even though an investigation was not necessarily in his own interest, the Honourable John A. MacDonald insisted that the truth be discovered, for the benefit of the whole country and in doing so lived up to his title.

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Interestingly enough, the idea of organizing such a Commission was originally put forward by the Governor General in conversation. (*4)

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Now, as I made clear above I am no expert in any of these matters. I of course understand that the system that manages this country has changed significantly since 1872. However, I find it hard to believe that our current system prevents us from discovering the truth about potential war crimes, where the system we had 138 years ago would have allowed it.

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So my question to you is this:

Will Your Excellency and The Hon. Prime Minister Stephen Harper work with all concerned parties in the forming of an open and accountable Commission to investigate the Afghan detainee controversy?

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I welcome your response, assured by Her Excellency’s self-stated role: “to create a space where, more than ever, dialogue prevails and the words of citizens are heard.”

In kindest regards, with best wishes to your loved ones.

On behalf of myself and all those seeking the truth,

Sean Devlin
Vancouver, BC

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