Dion Calls for Guergis’ Removal from Cabinet over Security Breach in Afghanistan January 16, 2008 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Helena Guergis must be removed from cabinet and stripped of her privileges as Privy Councillor for knowingly breaching Canadian security regulations and putting the lives of the recent Canadian delegation to Afghanistan at risk, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said today. “In publicly revealing in advance the itinerary of the delegation which included Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff and myself, Ms. Guergis violated the news blackout put in place for our protection, jeopardizing the security of the Afghan and Canadian military and civilian officials who welcomed and accompanied us during our trip,” wrote Mr. Dion in an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “As such, I am requesting that she be removed as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and stripped of her privileges as a Privy Councillor.” In an email sent to the media Saturday afternoon, Ms. Guergis revealed that the delegation would be visiting the Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team base the following morning, thereby violating the media embargo put in place by the Canadian Forces to ensure the safety of members of the delegation. “As Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and having visited Afghanistan as a government official herself, it is not believable that Ms. Guergis was not aware of the risks had the Taliban acted on this information,” he wrote. Mr. Dion reiterated his praise and thanks to the Canadian Forces and government officials at Foreign Affairs and National Defence for their tremendous professionalism and hard work to make such a trip possible, and called Ms. Guergis’ comments implying that the delegation was undeserving of Canadian Forces protection because of the Liberals’ stance on the mission in Kandahar absurd. “Ms. Guergis’ claim that only those who agree with the government are entitled to the protection of the men and women of the Canadian Forces abroad is ridiculous,” he said. “Political views should never have an impact on the treatment Canadians receive and I have every confidence that no one would feel more strongly about that than the members of the Canadian Forces who are putting so much on the line in Afghanistan fighting for values like democracy and tolerance.” Mr. Dion regretted that Ms. Guergis’ comments are just the latest example of the Harper government’s exploitation of Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan as a partisan wedge issue. “Instead of showing enthusiasm at the chance for more people to know about the hard work being done by our soldiers and civilian officials in Afghanistan, the Conservative government chose to take the low road and make partisan attacks,” he said. “It is not surprising that so many Canadians have lost confidence in this government's ability to effectively pursue a complex file such as the Afghan mission. We hope that one day they will join with us in having an informed and civil national debate on our involvement - the kind of rational and respectful democratic debate we hope will one day be common in Afghanistan.” A copy of Mr. Dion's letter to the Prime Minister is available at: http://www.liberal.ca/pdf/docs/080115_guergis_letter_en.pdf