The Great Awakening

So CDS Walter Natynczyk came clean today about the problematic transfer of detainees. Predictably, the opposition called for the Minister's head. A dollar short and a day late. Whatever else it is, this is another sad chapter in the erosion of ministerial responsibility, a pillar of our parliamentary democracy. The inability of Minister MacKay to take responsibility for the actions of his subordinates and more onerously his attempts to defame one of his officials who was of course unable to defend himself in a public forum, bespeak a cowardice that only further corrodes the public's confidence in government.

When he goes now, and he will, the damage will have been done. The good name of our military and those who so bravely serve it will have been impugned. The spectacle of our prime minister hiding behind the troops is particularly shameful in this regard. Our international reputation has been sullied. Who will now trust us to be an honest broker when we have acted so egregiously and then lied to cover it up. How many of our soldiers will suffer and die because we are now perceived as agents of despicable actors.

Our opposition parties have hardly covered themselves in glory. Calling for a public inquiry now is necessary but scarcely sufficient. Kicking MacKay in the ass on the way out the door is probably just gratuitous at this point. Collectively, the NDP, Liberals and BQ have the power to defeat a government that is possibly implicated in violations of international and Canadian law: in war crimes. It is time for them to go, and if the opposition parties want to be truly courageous, they can bring this about.