Inside Politics

UPDATED: Afghanistan CommitteeWatch: Well, at least this time he gave them a heads up ...

by Kady O'Malley Posted: December 21, 2009 2:39 PM Last Updated: December 21, 2009 4:08 PM
From the desk of Laurie Hawn comes official notice that Conservative members will not, alas, be attending tomorrow afternoon's meeting -- but that he wishes everyone -- well, the committee staff, at least -- a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays all the same. 

The following note was sent to committee clerk Carmen De Pape earlier today. (For fun, see how many of last week's talking points you can spot):

Dear Ms. De Pape,

I am writing to inform the committee that Conservative Party members of the Special Committee on Canada's Mission in Afghanistan will not to be attending Tuesday's meeting called under Standing Order 106.4.

The Christmas and Holiday Season is a time to spend with family, friends, and loved ones.  One would hope that only the most serious of emergencies should interfere with these moments.

There is presently nothing urgent needing study on the subject of Taleban prisoners.  The alleged events in question took place over 3 years ago under two different Governments.  Subsequently, Canada's prisoner policy was improved by the present Government and remains the "Gold standard" of our NATO allies.

Please pass this correspondence along to opposition members so they do not make unnecessary travel arrangements during this Christmas and Holiday season.

I would also like to wish yourself and all committee staff a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays over the coming weeks. 



Meanwhile, even before Hawn had sent along his party's regrets, the Liberals appeared to be in what some might definitely describe as 'disarray'. 

According to the brief, but cheery email sent out by a helpful Liberal staffer earlier this morning, both Bob Rae and Ujjal Dosanjh would be at the meeting, and would be available for any scrum-related needs that might arise. 

Turns out that was only half true -- while Rae will, indeed, be there, but Dosanjh is still in Vancouver, and plans to stay there -- despite the fact that he was one of the five MPs to sign off on last Thursday's letter of request.  Marcel Proulx will be filling in for him, but it's not clear exactly what that means, since we still don't know whether the not-quite-a-quorum of committee members who do manage to show up will go ahead with holding that 'informal meeting' that some were hinting at last week. 

Anyway, I'm trying to track down a slightly more definitive answer, and I'll keep you posted -- and don't worry, I'm still going to be there, even if Ujjal Dosanjh and the Conservatives won't be. 

INFORMAL OR NOT, HERE THEY COME UPDATE: According to the NDP, there are two witnesses scheduled for tomorrow: Amnesty International lawyer Paul Champ, and retired diplomat Gar Pardy. Here's the explanation, courtesy of Paul Dewar's office: 

 Champ is Amnesty's lawyer in the case on detainees.  He can speak on the information that led Amnesty and BCCLA to take the government to court on this issue. He can also speak to the government's attitude in court and at the MPCC hearings re sharing of information and documents.  Gar Pardy is a high-level former diplomat who was significant in organizing the letter-writing campaign by former diplomats in support of Colvin.  He can speak to the chill on the information when Ministers attack the credibility of our diplomats. The witnesses have agreed to testify at an informal meeting if the Conservatives boycotted the parliamentary meeting again. 
 

Tags: afghanistan committee, blackberry jungle, committeewatch