Liberals are calling on Rick Casson, Chair of the House of Commons Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, to show up to a scheduled meeting for  next Tuesday – following the orchestrated no-show of Conservative members this past week – in order to continue the inquiry into the Afghan torture controversy.

“The Harper government is running scared from the facts made public by Mr. Colvin’s letter,” said Liberal Defence Critic Ujjal Dosanjh. “Their brazen attempts to skirt Parliamentary rules further confirms that all roads in this scandal lead to the Office of the Prime Minister.”

Yesterday, Opposition members submitted a letter to the Clerk of the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan requesting another meeting on the issue of the transfer of Afghan detainees. Today the meeting was confirmed for next Tuesday.

“My hope is that Mr. Casson takes his role as Chair seriously and attends the meeting,” said Committee Vice-Chair Bryon Wilfert. “His absence, along with other Conservative MPs, last Tuesday demonstrates this government’s out-to-lunch attitude on parliamentary protocol, but more importantly, their disregard for the seriousness of the issue at hand.”

Last Tuesday Conservative committee members, MPs Rick Casson, Laurie Hawn, Jim Abbott, Greg Kerr, Dave MacKenzie, and Deepak Obhrai failed to attend the committee’s inquiry into the Afghan torture controversy.

“Whether the committee members attend is one thing,” concluded Mr. Wilfert. “But what we do know is that Mr. Harper will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from coming to light about his government’s handling of Afghan detainees.”