Embattled Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Photo Credit: CBC

In a span of just a few short weeks, Stephen Harper and his minority Conservative government have demonstrated a near total lack of credibility on two important issues which have dominated Canadian news – their stance on the environment and their knowledge and involvement in the alleged torture of detainees in Afghanistan.

The two issues are not by themselves connected, but they have managed to induce Mr. Harper and his government to deal with them in a strikingly similar fashion; that is, they first vehemently deny that any such issues exist, then they categorically refute that they have played any role in creating or contributing to the existence of these issues, and finally they attempt to downplay any legitimacy of the criticisms cast against them for their inability to deal forthrightly with the repercussions of their actions and or inactions once the issues and the government’s complicity with them have been exposed.
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Once upon a time, many years ago, Canada was a leader when it came to human rights. We helped create the UN, the Geneva Accords, and even adapted many of those accords into our own legislation. We took pride in being the protector, the one who stood up for the little guy, damning the consequences. However, this recent torture debacle involving our military has my recent suspicions that Canada is in a bit of an image crisis confirmed. Like a teenager that has emerged from puberty a little different, Canada is not the peace-loving, torture-hating nation we all thought it was. Between the adjusting of our voice and the ridding of our pimples, we changed.

Torture has always been a no-no. But we all know it happens. It happens in Guantanamo, it happens in Iraq and it sure as hell happens in Afghanistan. At the very least, our job is to not take part in it, and certainly not solicit and most definitely not condone it. Handing over a detainee when one knows he/she will be tortured is not doing our job correctly. Now I know that in the atrocities of war, worse things have happened. However, this begs the question: is this the only time something like this has happened? Because chances are, it isn’t. War makes many people do things they would not do under normal circumstances, no one is questioning or berating that. We have been putting our military on such a pedestal from past peacekeeping accomplishments we thought our soldiers were immune to such cruel behavioural traits, but clearly they are not. They are after all, only human.
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