And Tuesday's release of a federal inquiry report that said Canadian officials share some of the blame for the torture of three Canadian citizens imprisoned in Syria added volume to the voice of the Anti-Torture Caravan travelling through Niagara West.

The Caravan rolled through Beamsville and Grimsby in tandem with the release of the long-awaited report by former Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci concluding that the actions of Canadian officials contributed indirectly to the torture of Canadian citizens Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin.

The portion of the report that was released to the public was welcome news for members of the group Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture. However they continue to call for full disclosure of the role of the Canadian government.

"Most Canadians do not normally associate the words 'Canada' and 'torture' with the same breath," caravan coordinator Matthew Behrens said Tuesday in Beamsville.

Behrens said Canada regularly deports individuals to countries where they are tortured.

Group members wearing orange jumpsuits and black hoods, the international symbol of rendition to torture made a dramatic impact on the downtown streets of Beamsville and Grimsby.

The Caravan was organized by the group Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, and members spent six days on the road engaged in public events and demonstrations to raise awareness.

Ultimately, they want to point to the manner in which democracy becomes eroded when torture directly or even indirectly becomes part of the government's practice.

"Torture is democracy's antithesis. Whether it is the federal government's refusal to release documents about the torture of Canadian-captured detainees in Afghanistan, the holding of completely unaccountable secret inquiries into the torture of Canadian citizens, or the use of secret hearings and the lowest available standards of justice to deport people to torture, we see that the government's efforts to protect institutions involved in such heinous practices are actually undermining the hallmarks of democracy," Behrens said. "Democracy really is on the line, and that affects all of us here and across Canada".

Group members said the Canadian government is increasingly involved, directly and indirectly, in policies and practices that result in the torture of human beings.

Most Canadians not aware of their country's involvement in the practices that result in the torture of citizens said Elizabeth Block of Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture.

"When they find out they're horrified. Some people don't want to know," Block said.

Mark Konrad, president of the non-profit human rights organization Global Importune, has headed up some of the largest ever letter campaigns on behalf of Amnesty International. Konrad has been responsible in part for the release of hundreds of political prisoners.

More information is available at: www.homesnotbombs.ca/secrettrials.htm; www.globalimportune.org.