When The S**t Sticks, You Get To Wear It

Previously, polling company Harris Decima had released poll results demonstrating that a majority of Canadians believed Richard Colvin’s testimony about the likelihood of Canadian detainees in Afghanistan being handed over for torture, despite the government’s rebuttal. Some people dismissed that poll, saying that it had come out prior to testimony by key witnesses like Rick Hillier and David Mulroney (which, to some degree, missed the point as the respondents were expressing their agreement with Colvin, not the government, which had had ample time to respond).

Well, polling company Ekos has a fresh poll out that was conducted between December 2-8, after Hillier, Mulroney, and various other high level officials testified in front of the House of Commons committee (save Peter McKay himself, who spoke yesterday), showing that,

A clear majority of Canadians believe that Canadian Forces handed off prisoners with the knowledge that they might be subject to torture (61% nationally and over 70% outside of CPC supporters). Of that, the vast majority (83%) believe that transferred prisoners were undoubtedly subjected to torture.

Graphs below the jump…

The poll goes on to say that,

Turning to the question of satisfaction with the Government’s level of transparency and disclosure on this issue,it is noteworthy that only about one in four (24%) Canadians expresses any degree of satisfaction. In the Conservatives’ favour is that about one in three (35%) are sitting on the fence and awaiting the final verdict before drawing conclusions on this part of the issue. The clear plurality (41%), however, is dissatisfied with the government’s handling of this issue.

That is, needless to say, music to my ears. Especially given that we are coming up on a six-week parliamentary break. It is my sincere hope that this remains a live issue in Canadian politics, that Canadians continue to care about its outcome and seek a clear conclusion about the actions of their government, and that we honestly get to the bottom of what happened. In many regards I believe that the integrity of the country rests upon it.

Tagged as: Afghan Detainee scandal, Ekos, Harris Decima, public opinion, Richard Colvin