On review mechanisms

Obviously it's a plus to see the NDP demanding answers to some of the most glaring questions raised by the Harper government's G8/G20 debacle:

Demonstrations are inevitable at events such at the G8 and G20 and downtown Toronto is an extremely challenging area for police to secure. Following the summits, serious questions have been raised about the implementation of security plans.

* Why did the federal government ignore the concerns and suggestions of the local government in holding the summit in downtown Toronto on a weekend?
* Who requested the temporary suspension of basic civil liberties for the duration of the summits? And why was this done in secret?
* What role did federal officials play in the Integrated Security Unit in policing the summit?
* Will the government compensate Toronto for the damage that Harper’s summits have caused?

“The estimated billion dollar budget for security should have been Harper’s first clue that downtown Toronto was the wrong place to hold a summit like the G20,” said NDP Public Safety Critic Don Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway). “It’s incumbent on the federal government to work with the Integrated Security Unit, the city of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and all three levels of police forces to find answers to the questions being asked about how strategic decisions were made and the way in which demonstrators and journalists were treated. I will be asking the Public Safety Committee to get to the bottom of these lingering questions and develop a post-summit accountability report.”

But while the NDP looks to be asking the right questions, there are a couple of reasons why it's worth wondering whether the committee system is the best way to get at the truth.

First off, there's the combination of the Cons' invocation of "ministerial responsibility" to avoid questioning of anybody below the cabinet level, and their refusal to have ministers answer questions about anything "operational". Which will almost certainly limit any committee hearings to a battle of political spin rather than an exchange of meaningful information - at least to the extent that witnesses are under the Cons' thumb.

And second, there's the question of what kind of findings and report can be generated. In general, the committee wouldn't figure to be able to go into the level of detail required to completely sort out the competing arguments from the police and protesters. Plus, it's a mortal lock that the Cons would both delay the release of any report, and issue a dissenting opinion praising Stephen Harper to the skies to counterbalance even clear findings from the rest of the committee.

All of which makes this exactly the type of case where the opposition parties should be calling for an independent inquiry to take the most detailed possible look at the evidence available, and reach conclusions that the Cons won't reasonably be able to dispute. And hopefully the Libs and Bloc will share the NDP's determination to get answers about the billion dollars spent to repress Canadians.

Update: Of course, it never hurts to make it known that the public is paying attention to the issue as well. So join the Facebook group calling for an inquiry if you haven't already.

(Edit: fixed wording.)