[Flash Walken]

Canada's hands aren't clean

Speaking in the House of Commons Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismissed the idea that the Canadian intelligence community was in any way implicated in the report.

"This is a report of the United States Senate," Harper said. "It has nothing to do whatsoever with the government of Canada."

A statement released by the office of Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney said, "Our Government does not condone the use of torture, and certainly does not engage in it." It added that Canada "will continue to ensure that intelligence is reviewed and assessed by Canadian intelligence experts before it is acted upon."

However, as Juneau-Katsuya points out, intelligence Canada shared with the CIA led to the torture of a number of Canadians.

"That's exactly what took place with Maher Arar, that's exactly what took place with Omar Khadr, that's exactly what took place with tons of other people," says Juneau-Katsuya, who calls Harper's stance "a very hypocritical position."

Harper's dismissive tone about the Senate report obscures how closely Canadian intelligence works with its American counterparts, says Juneau-Katsuya.

He says that Canadian spies have a "phenomenal" relationship with the CIA. Not only do they share intelligence related to foreign threats, but CSIS has liaison officers that work in CIA headquarters, and vice versa.

Given their close working relationship, did Canadian intelligence agents witness any of the CIA's torture tactics?

"It would be speculation on my part," says Juneau-Katsuya, "but I think it's very likely."

He adds that "some [Canadian agents] might have had the wise reflex not to be there and simply say, 'I wasn't present.'"

But the bottom line is the Canadian government "cannot deny the fact that we were aware of the practices."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/cia-torture-r...ence-1.2867716