Community reaction to government OK'ing torture 'tainted' info

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has quietly reversed the Canadian government's policy on using intelligence derived from torture or mistreatment. (Dar Yasin/Associated Press)

When it comes to using torture to obtain valuable information, the federal government is arguing that the ends often justify the means.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is defending his directive to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which says government now expects "the protection of life and property" to be the organization's overriding priority.

Toews has stipulated that in "exceptional circumstances" -- for instance if public safety is at stake - the spy agency can make use of information extracted through torture.

This directive is a break from previous Conservative policies that would have thrown out such "tainted" information. Opposition MPs seized on the news, saying it means the government is indirectly supporting torture.

The change also generated a strong reaction from the CBC community, many of who said the move runs counter to time-honoured Canadian values and that information obtained through torture is unreliable.

• "Tortured people will confess and/or say anything their captors want to hear just to make the pain stop. Condoning torture, even tacitly, makes Canada vulnerable to the same hideous strategic errors Bush Jr. made under his tenure. This new policy is short-sighted, reprehensible, and shameful." - NoDogma
• "Thus making us no better than the US, the Taliban or any other nation, government or organization employing torture. A predictable act by a hard right, fundamentalist government. Very disturbing and dangerous for any Canadians who are sent to war or strife torn areas of the world. The next step is to simply announce that CSIS and others in Canada can use torture." - Broadside
• "Torturing people is wrong. Where are we going in this country? We are supposed to be the good guys , remember? The people who fought and died for peace and freedom are all dead I guess and the only ones left are the ones who have never felt the jackboot on the neck. " - jetstove
• "So much for Canada being an advocate for human rights. We are going backwards. This government does too many things quietly, on the sly, contrary to Canadian values." - MBrunswick
• "Canadians, hang your head in shame." - grandmabsuzieq

Others admitted that the new directive is unpleasant, but agreed that exceptions must be made in extreme circumstances and certain contexts.

• "I'm not sure how anyone can say that torture in extreme cases is a bad thing. You can't defend against any enemy if you have a "rule" book that protects a prisoner. If you knew that someone was going to kill your family and needed information to stop it... what would you do?" - BadTiger
• "CSIS does not use this information in a vacuum; it is cross referenced with other sources to try and determine its reliability and is given little weight on its own. You can entertain all the "official" policies you want, but the reality is information from acts that are considered illegal in Canada is used all the time and always has been." - Zero-sum game.

A few saw no need to apologize for accepting information obtained through torture. Thank you, as always, for following our coverage.

• "Good. If the information is used in a law enforcement/counter-terrorist manner (ie CSIS passes along the information to the RCMP, who then stops X plot), that's fine. That information would rightly be excluded from any criminal trials, however; but based on the article, it seems that the Minister had no intention for it to be used in prosecutions." - ten_of_spades
• "As long as it saves innocent Canadian lives and those of our allies then I'm 100% behind it. As for the people that will claim that we are no better than the Taliban if we use this information for our own protection...no we are never like them and never will be." - CBCLiberalBlog
• "Good! Whatever works is fine by me. This is an epic struggle for democracy. We can't play with two sets of rules. The enemy started this conflict so it's only fair we play by their rules." - gerry atric
• "Of course we should use it, especially if it may well save lives." - HolyMacinaw
  

Thank you, as always, for reading our coverage. We invite readers to challenge any of these points and continue the conversation below.