The staff of NDP MP Dawn Black are among the most creative and skilled when it comes to using federal access to information (ATI) laws to learn important details about the Conservative government's plans, policies, and initiatives. The latest ATI nugget from Black, who is her party's national defence critic, are some documents that show that officials at Canada's Department of National Defence prepared the speech that Afghanistan President Hamid Kharzai gave when he addressed Parliament on Sept. 22, 2006.


“...Karzai’s address to Parliament was an elaborately staged political stunt,” said Black, in a statement. “What Canadians heard was not the voice of the Afghan people, but the talking points of the Department of National Defence.”

When Parliament resumes next month, Black wants an emergency debate on this issue and will ask the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence to investigate DND's military communications strategy.