First, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates had to mend fences here after he seemed to criticize Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Now, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier is paying back the favour, mending fences with the U.S. after we reported on Wednesday night that Canadian diplomats had a “Torture Awareness” training manual that listed the United States and Israel along with Syria, Iran, China and others as states that employ torture or illegal interrogation techniques.
Bernier’s office issued this statement this afternoon:
“I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department’s torture awareness training. It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten. The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As such, it does not convey the Government’s views or positions.”