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OTTAWA - Pressure mounted on the Conservative government to call a public inquiry into the handling of Afghan detainees Tuesday at the same time as NATO announced that Canadian troops will take charge of a troubled district north of Kandahar.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama revealed his government will send a surge of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan by next summer, joining the 68,000 U.S. soldiers already on the ground.
Those troops will begin to leave Afghanistan in 2011, the same year Canada has pledged to end its combat mission and pull Canadian troops out of the country. However, Obama did not spell out when the last U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan.
In the House of Commons, debate was dominated by questions over whether Canadian troops have turned detainees over to Afghan authorities in the past knowing they would likely be tortured.
Opposition parties banded together to adopt a motion presented by NDP MP Paul Dewar calling for a public inquiry into the treatment of detainees over the protests of Conservative MPs like Cheryl Gallant, who said discussion of the Afghan mission in Parliament encourages the Taliban to target Canadian troops.
While the motion puts political pressure on the government to call a public inquiry into statements by people like diplomat Richard Colvin that Canadian officials knew detainees were being tortured, it is not legally binding on the government.
Asked after the 146-129 vote whether the government would respect the motion and call an inquiry, Defence Minister Peter MacKay simply smiled as if amused by the question and walked away.
Earlier, MacKay said documents concerning the treatment of detainees are being vetted by the Justice Department to ensure that national security is not compromised if they are released.
While the Arghandab district has seen heavy fighting in recent years, MacKay said NATOšs decision to put Canadian troops in charge makes sense since Canada has played a key role in repairing the Dahla Dam in that area.
elizabeth.thompson@sunmedia.ca