Richard Colvin is a hardworking Canadian diplomat who was simply doing his job when he wrote memos about reliable evidence of mistreatment of Afghan prisoners by Afghan authorities.

The focus must now turn on why it took Ottawa a year to admit there was a problem. It was only when stories began appearing in the Globe and Mail, and then questions in the House that the Harper government realized it had to do something.

But in reality the government had known for a year there was a problem, and failed to act.

What this also shows is that the Harper government has been trying to stop Richard Colvin from testifying, and has been insisting on limiting the scope of the inquiry, in order to cover up the truth about who knew what, when, where, and how.

What did other officials do with Colvin's memos and warnings? Did they advise Ministers, the Prime Minister?

It took the Canadian government far too long to react to these reports. That much is clear. Richard Colvin acted. What about others?