Torture directives implicate Tory government in rights abuses, NDP says

OTTAWA – The Opposition NDP says the Conservatives are complicit in immoral abuses by allowing RCMP and Canada Border Services officers to use information obtained through torture.

Newly disclosed records show Public Safety Minister Vic Toews quietly issued the instructions to the Mounties and the border agency last fall after giving nearly identical orders to Canada’s spy service.

The government directives state that protection of life and property are the chief considerations when deciding on the use of information that may have been extracted through torture.

They also outline instructions for deciding whether to share information when there is a “substantial risk” that doing so might result in someone in custody being abused.

NDP public safety critic Randall Garrison says the federal directives directly contradict Canada’s legal obligations to shun mistreatment of prisoners.

In replies sent this summer to concerned members of the public, Toews says the government will not condone “dithering” in the face of threats to the lives of Canadians.