Defence Department keeping tabs on opposition critics

It seems National Defence has been keeping close tabs on what NDP and Liberal critics are saying about Afghan detainees, the F-35 and other issues of concern to the department.

In the aftermath of the May 2011 federal election, Defence Department officials drew up profiles of each of the Liberal and NDP critics “of interest to National Defence.”

These included NDP defence critic Jack Harris and Liberal counterpart John McKay, new NDP military procurement critic Christine Moore, NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar and Liberal counterpart Dominic Leblanc, and NDP Veterans Affairs critic Peter Stoffer and Liberal counterpart Sean Casey.

Most of the profiles are straightforward, providing information on how long the MP has been in Parliament and what positions he or she has held, education and non-political experience.

But the notes also indicate whether the critics commented on any defence-related issues in the 2011 election campaign or in previous sessions of Parliament.

“Mr. Leblanc spoke out in Parliament on the need for an Independent Public inquiry into the transfer of Afghan detainees,” reads the profile on Liberal foreign affairs critic Dominic Leblanc. “He has argued that the Government is not telling the truth with respect to detainees and is trying to covert (sic) up what really happened.”

The note also says Leblanc “has been very vocal about the F-35 program in the House and in the media,” that he has complained about the program’s escalating costs and “identified many problems with the program such as cost overruns and delays.”

Similarly, the NDP’s Jack Harris was cited for his advocacy “for the allocation of a fully equipped search and rescue helicopter in St. John’s,” his calls for the withdrawal of all Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011, questions to Defence Minister Peter MacKay about funding for the military reserves, and his interest in “Canada’s East Coast procurement-related issues,” such as the Joint Support Ship project, the maritime helicopter project and fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft.

Some of the profiles also include quotes from the election campaign.

“During the 2011 election campaign, Mr. Stoffer discussed Canada’s involvement in Libya, arguing that ‘the Canadian government needs to take its cues from the United Nations,’ although he did not indicate what would be an appropriate timeline for Canadian involvement.”

The notes are generally fact-based and do not seem to pass judgment about their subjects. It was unclear exactly who they were circulated to within the department.

Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Lee Berthiaume