OTTAWA -- The Green Party of Canada is condemning the Conservative shift in policy to now accept information obtained by torture. “The US has already been down this dark road. Canada should not follow,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands).
A recent Access to Information Act request by the Canadian Press has obtained a directive from Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), instructing that in “exceptional circumstances” CSIS should “share the most complete information available at the time with relevant authorities, including information based on intelligence provided by foreign agencies that may have been derived from the use of torture or mistreatment.”
“Yet again Stephen Harper re-defines morality. He used to insist that information obtained by torture was tainted and should be discarded. When did this become tolerable?” asked Eric Walton, Green International Affairs Critic. "We have seen over and over again that the information obtained by torture is notoriously unreliable and can lead to a disastrous course of action” added Mr Walton.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for the US to stop using information obtained by torture, "In the face of this perilous climate, our nation must not embrace a morality based on an attitude that 'desperate times call for desperate measures.' There can be no compromise on the moral imperative to protect the basic human rights of any individual incarcerated for any reason."
“A nation that values justice, respect for the rule of law, and civil liberty does not engage in torture. It is that simple,” said May.
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Rebecca Harrison
613-614-4916
media@greenparty.ca