Tories under fire

The Tory government has come under fire for what opposition parties are calling a breach in legal ethics. The Foreign Affairs Department had given approval to pay the preliminary legal bills of Richard Colvin, a federal official who has put out warnings of torture in Afghan jails. However the government has now stated that it will not pay the legal fees until Colvin's lawyer lists the individuals she has been in contact with on the case. Colvin and his lawyer, Lori Bokenfohr have stated that to release this information would be a breach of legal ethics codes and is something they cannot do. Federal NDP leader Jack Layton denounced the governments actions as did Bloc defence critic Claude Bachand.

Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/716549--ottawa-won-t-pay-lawyer-for-whistleblower, http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/2009/10/27/11544431.html