Public Hearing for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan

Saturday February 9^th, 2008, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, in MONTREAL:

at Centre St-Pierre, 1212 Panet (Beaudry metro)
Room 100 (Marcel-Pepin)

Organised by : Collectif Échec à la guerre

To: All organizations of civil society in Québec concerned by the war in Afghanistan and by the militarization of Canada’s foreign policy

The year 2007 closed off with a Christmas visit to Kandahar by Canadian Minister of Defence, Peter McKay, Chief of Defence Staff, Rick Hillier and… the US Ambassador to Canada.

Less than two weeks after the conference in Bali, which saw Canada thoroughly discredited for parroting the George Bush thesis on the Kyoto Accord, it was McKay’s turn to echo another Bushism: the majority of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan fell victim to arms supplied… by Iran!

The political and military partnership between Canada and the US continues to deepen in both words and facts. And while the war in Afghanistan has lasted since October 2001, the Conservative government is seeking to obtain a new mandate to prolong the Canadian military intervention until February 2011.

To this end, last October the government mandated an Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan, better known as the Manley Commission, to make recommendations on « Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan beyond February 2009 ». Its report is due January 29th but there has been little doubt as to the character of its recommendations since its creation.

An anti-democratic process

While the population of Canada is deeply divided on the question of Canadian military intervention in Afghanistan and the population of Quebec is largely opposed, it is hard not to be struck by the total absence of transparency or serious public consultation on an issue of such importance. As a group of « experts », the Manley Commission « consults » and then reports. There are no public hearings. The meetings the panel holds with certain organizations are private: no media is present and the organizations are not permitted to divulge the questions or comments of the panel members on their presentation. The public barely had a month and a half (until December 1^st 2007) to submit propositions to the panel… by Internet, submissions that cannot be consulted on the panel’s website ( http://www.independent-panel-independant.ca/main-eng.html) which offers no information besides the mandate of the panel and notes on its members.

Experts… in the sacrosanct partnership with the US

The five members of the group are: « John Manley, Canada’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who will serve as chair; Derek Burney, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States; Pamela Wallin, former Canadian Consul General in New York City; Paul Tellier, former clerk of the Privy Council; and the Honourable Jake Epp, former federal Cabinet Minister ».

While the media have highlighted the deftness of Stephen Harper’s choice of a leading figure of the Liberal Party of Canada to head up the panel, they forgot to mention that Manley has long been considered a « hawk » on questions of war within the Liberal Party. But what has been more significantly overlooked is the direct link that unites these « distinguished Canadians », who sit on the board of directors of several large Canadian corporations, including military and oil companies; that John Manley presided over the Task Force on the Future of North America, which in 2005 recommended an economic union between the United States, Canada and Mexico and was one of the two main promoters of the « Smart Border », with Tom Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security of the US; that Derek Burney, while he was President and CEO of CAE, was part of the CEO Action Group on North American Security and Prosperity which put the Canadian government on the path towards the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), etc.

The importance of a broad anti-war popular mobilization

It is already very clear that the propositions set to come from this group of experts will not put into question the Canadian military partnership with the US in Afghanistan. In fact, what is likely to come out will be contrary to what a strong majority of Quebecers want. According to a poll by Léger Marketing last June ( http://www.legermarketing.com/documents/SPCLM/070620FR.pdf), Quebecers :

• opposed the dispatching of troops from Valcartier (at 70%);
• supported the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan (before 2009 – 62%, immediately – 41%);
• considered that the Canadian intervention in Afghanistan was decided above all to maintain good relations with the US (62%).

It is also important to realize that the differences with the Conservative government’s policies in the war in Afghanistan expressed by both the Bloc Québécois and the Liberal Party do not reflect the positions expressed by the majority of Quebecers in this poll: the simple promise of a retreat from Kandahar, a better sharing of the risks and « sacrifices » between NATO countries, and a better « balance » between the military and humanitarian aspects would be enough to calm their criticism.

If we want to truly put an end to the war and to militarism, with its atrocities, its destruction, its devastation and the waste that results from it, it is critical that citizens and civil society organizations call loud and clear for the end of the war and for a halt to political procrastination. As it seems that a federal election may be called in early 2008, we need to ensure that the withdrawal of Canadian troops becomes a major issue.

Participate in the public hearings

In view of contributing to this objective, Collectif Échec à la guerre is calling on organizations of Quebec civil society to participate in public hearings for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan. These hearings will give expression to the voice of the majority of Quebecers who oppose this war and also criticize both the process and the recommendations offered by the Manley Commission, which will be made public twelve days before.

DATE:       Saturday February 9th 2008

WHERE:  Montreal , Centre St-Pierre, 1212 Panet Room 100 (Marcel-Pepin)
WHEN:     9:30am – 4:30pm

CALL FOR PAPERS

We call on all ORGANIZATIONS of Quebec civil society who oppose the Canadian military intervention in Afghanistan to come and express their opinion and their concerns, general and specific, about this war and all it implies.

Length of document:  1 – 20 pages
Language:                   French or English

Two deadlines:           February 9th (submission of paper) January 26th (to formally indicate your intention to submit a paper)

PROCEEDINGS

The exact proceedings of the hearings will be established later, when we know the number of groups interested in presenting papers. We can, however, already envision that there will be an opening period followed by presentations by various organizations to a group of « commissioners » and, if necessary, some discussion.

The hearings will, of course, be a public event, with both citizens and media invited. In Montreal , they will be conducted in French and simultaneous translation from French into English will be provided (and vice versa, for papers submitted in English).

In conclusion, we are aware that the deadline for such an event is tight, but we believe it is crucial to make the point of view of the majority of the population of Quebec heard clearly and to denounce the obscure procedure chosen by the conservative government to avoid a real public debate on the war in Afghanistan and be served with the « independent » recommendations it desires.

In 2008, let’s put an end to the war in Afghanistan!

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