US & Israel placed on Canada's torture watch list of countries

Once again, I have to read the Israeli online newspapers to find out what is going on in my own country. This report came from Ynet News:

Canada's foreign ministry has put the United States and Israel on a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured and also classifies some US interrogation techniques as torture, according to a document obtained by Reuters on Thursday. The revelation is to embarrass the minority Conservative government, which is a staunch ally of both the United States and Israel. The document -- part of a training course on torture awareness given to diplomats.

The Ynet news brief is based on a Reuter’s report which I eventually tracked down:

Under "definition of torture" the document lists U.S. interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners. "The United States does not permit, tolerate, or condone torture under any circumstances," said a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier tried to distance Ottawa from the document.

"The training manual is not a policy document and does not reflect the views or policies of this government," he said. The government mistakenly provided the document to Amnesty International Canada as part of a court case the rights organization has launched against Ottawa over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.

So much for Stephen Harper being Bushitler’s lap dog. I did vote for Stephen Harper’s Conservative party but I have to admit to being completely under-whelmed by the government’s performance to date, and I have to ask; is there any Conservative ministers who have the slightest clue as to what is going on in their ministries? Even one would be nice.