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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canada's military task force in Afghanistan learned its lesson several years ago when allegations first surfaced that detainees were being tortured at the hands of local intelligence authorities, the mission's newly appointed commander said Thursday.
Brig.-Gen.Daniel Menard said Canadian forces responded appropriately in 2007 after the allegations first surfaced by implementing more rigorous handover procedures and new safeguards to ensure prisoners could be monitored more effectively once in Afghan custody.
"We have certainly learned our lessons," Menard said after a change of command ceremony at Kandahar Airfield, where he took over the task force from outgoing commander Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance.
"One thing that has been done right from the beginning is that every time that we have heard about anything to do with torture or something that was similar to this, some actions were taken by this task force in order to correct this."
His comments came a day after a federal official dropped a political bombshell on Parliament, alleging that suspects handed over by Canada to Afghan authorities were tortured and that the government was at best indifferent and at worst tried to cover it up.
The stunning revelation was delivered by Richard Colvin, an intelligence officer based in Washington, who spent 18 months in Afghanistan in the No. 2 diplomatic post.
Menard said he's confident that Afghan prisoners are these days receiving treatment that's much more in line with Canadian standards than it may have been in the past.
"We have some experts from (Correctional Services Canada) every week (who) visit the prisons ... not only to train also the all the specialists there, but also to look at they way they're treated," he said.
"Because we are there regularly, we are in a position to certainly follow through everything that we are doing. Right now I am sure that every single step has been taken in order to eliminate anything that exists like this, or - more importantly - to ensure that it doesn't happen."
Colvin, a former diplomat, said he repeatedly warned Ottawa about torture allegations involving the Afghan intelligence service, but his reports were ignored. He said he and others were eventually told to stop putting things down in writing about prisoners.
Menard denied ever hearing anything about reports being sanitized.
"Never," he said. "This is not the way that we operate and certainly this is not the way we have been working."
Menard's comments echoed those of Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, who was in Kabul on Thursday to attend the swearing-in of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Respect for the rule of law is an essential aspect of the Canadian Forces operation in Afghanistan, Cannon told a conference call from Kabul.
"We take and have always taken our responsibility regarding the treatment of Taliban prisoners seriously, and we expect the Afghan government to do the same," he said.
Canada "acted decisively" when allegations of tortured detainees first surfaced publicly in 2007, improving transfer arrangements that had been put in place by the previous Liberal government to better ensure prisoners could be monitored once in Afghan custody, he added.
The government has never denied having concerns regarding the conditions of Afghan detention facilities, he said.
Canadian civilian officials have made more than 182 visits to detention facilities in Kandahar and Kabul to monitor the efforts to train and mentor local correctional authorities, and more than $132 million has been spent to enhance Afghan justice and corrections capacity and infrastructure, training, mentoring and human rights education, Cannon said.
During a visit earlier this year to Kandahar's infamous Sarposa prison, Cannon and then-public safety minister Stockwell Day spoke to prisoners who denied torture and said they were satisfied with the way they were being treated, he added.
"Let's be clear here on these allegations: Canada has been responsive to the allegations of abuse, and has taken them seriously," Cannon said.
"When we've had specific allegations of abuse, we've acted, and we will not tolerate proven evidence of abuse."
On Thursday, NDP critic Paul Dewar demanded a public inquiry into Colvin's allegations, saying Canada's reputation as a champion of human rights has been tarnished by the notion that prisoners were tortured and that Ottawa may have turned a blind eye.
It's in the interest of the Conservative government to clear the air, Dewar said.
Conservative MPs have dismissed Colvin's testimony, saying he never actually witnessed torture taking place and suggested his allegations were part of an elaborate Taliban disinformation campaign.
