Extremely conveniently and on the last day before Parliament rises for the summer -- and Harper's ass is saved for now -- an e-mail emerges suggesting the four Mounties who Tasered Robert Dziekanski had planned to use the electric stunning device all along, and long before they even got to Vancouver's airport. This directly contradicts their sworn testimony and has forced Judge Thomas Braidwood, who thought he would hear closing arguments today at the inquiry into Dziekanski's death, to adjourn for three months while he sorts out why it took so long for the e-mail to emerge.
Apparently, the government's lawyer had it for "weeks." Did Mr. Harper order the e-mail to be held back until now, when he had Michael Ignatieff by the short and curlies? In other words, what did Harper know (if anything) and when did he know it?
This demands an emergency debate. Ignatieff should demand the Speaker, Peter Milliken, reconvene the House of Commons as soon as possible. If this isn't a matter demanding a call on confidence in the government who was in power at the time of this tragic incident, I don't know what does. The RCMP, while independent, is nonetheless a militia as well and as a result reports directly to the Minister for Public Safety. Thus, there has to be accountability on this. We can't wait until September to get answers on four officers who it appears may be caught in a lie.
UPDATE (6:46 pm EDT, 2246 GMT): Big typo -- it's Peter Milliken, not Robert. Sorry, Mr. Speaker.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
No comments:
Post a Comment