The following comments were posted on McLeans magazine website on May 7, 2007

Shirley Heafey

As the representative of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) who is co-applicant in the Afghan detainee Federal Court Application, we are very skeptical about the new agreement between Canada and Afghanistan.

There are too many factors that will operate against the implementation of this agreement. On the face of it, the agreement is a big improvement over the initial one. However, an agreement is only as good as the parties involved and the mechanisms put in place to implement the agreement. In my view, the Canadian government is now intent in trying to address the problem that Canadians have forced them to deal with. SO, without further ado, they are now convinced that this pesky problem will go away and they can now turn to issues they can better control.

I agree with Kady's suggestion that this agreement is not worth the paper it's written on. The BCCLA along with AI will be cross-examining the Foreign Affairs affiant in the hope of obtaining some details of this new agreement. Inspections? Who will be doing them? How often? What expertise will inspectors have in determining torture? How will the required documentation of detainees be done by the Afghans so that Canadians can trace detainees? Which prisons will house detainees since there are hundreds all over the country? What has been put in place to remove a detainee who has been shown to have been tortured? Where will a tortured detainee be held while in Canadian custody? There are many questions unanswered in the new agreement and we are hoping to get some of these answers during the cross examination of the Foreign Affairs affiant.

The other side of the coin is: there is no Rule of Law in Afghanistan. We Canadians who have lived here all our lives cannot fathom what that means. I respectfully disagree with Michael Byers, for whom I have the utmost regard. President Karzai needs Canada's help and we are there and we will remain there as long as our agreed-upon role is to help rebuild Afghanistan and as long as this "new government" is in place. Karzai knows this. He is a brilliant man. Karzai may have all the good will in the world and make all kinds of sincere promises but he has no power to stop the authorities (police, security forces, courts, etc) from doing exactly what they feel they have a right to do. Please, there is no rule of law. That means chaos and that means making up the rules as you go along. Karzai's cabinet is made up of a lot of war lords who have promoted war in Afghanistan for decades. Karzai cannot control these war lords because they are a power unto themselves. They are there because they are the ones who have the real control of the country and Karzai is a good figurehead.

I believe Karzai has the will to keep his promises but not the power. Consequently, our new agreement with Afghanistan is worth little or nothing. Karzai wants us there but the war lords could not care less. The Afghan government will promise anything to keep us there and worry about implementation problems later.

Listen to Lewis McKenzie's assessment. Canada needs to work with the UN to manage a facility for detainees with the assistance of Afghans who can undergo training while they are at it. This is not Canada's problem alone and a new agreement will not fix our international obligations under the Geneva Conventions.

BCCLA and AI will continue their work to make Canadians aware of what resolutions have been arrived at in the coming weeks and months regarding this issue. The response and support of Canadians to this issue in the past weeks has been heartwarming and I have never been prouder of being Canadian.