Editing Rob Nicholson (section)

=== Harper government (2005-2015) ===
[[File:G7 Foreign Ministers & EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Meeting in Lubeck, Germany.jpg|thumb|Rob Nicholson at [[G7]] Foreign Ministers & EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Meeting in Germany]]
[[File:Secretary Kerry Poses for a Photo in Inaquit, Canada.jpg|thumb|Robert Nicholson, U.S. Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] with aboriginal northerners at a replica Inuit village in Aglukkaq's hometown of Inaquit, Canada]]
Nicholson was re-elected in the [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006 election]] and appointed to the Harper cabinet as [[Leader of the Government in the House of Commons|Government House Leader]].<ref name="justice1"/>

====Minister of Justice (2007-2013)====
Nicholson was appointed as [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]] in early 2007. He replaced [[Vic Toews]] as Justice Minister during a [[Cabinet shuffle]] on January 4, 2007. [[Peter Van Loan]] replaced Nicholson as Government House Leader.

On March 13, 2010, Nicholson released the terms of reference for the appointment of [[Frank Iacobucci]] as an Independent Adviser. Iacobucci will conduct an independent review of documents related to the transfer of detainees by the [[Canada's role in the Afghanistan War|Canadian Forces in Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/justice-minister-rob-nicholson-announces-full-terms-of-review/article4352235/ | location=Toronto | work=The Globe and Mail | first=Jane | last=Taber | title=Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announces full terms of review&nbsp;— The Globe and Mail | date=March 13, 2010 | access-date=April 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/news-nouv/nr-cp/2010/doc_32486.html |title=Minister of Justice Releases Terms of Reference for Independent Adviser to Review National Security Informatione |publisher=Justice |date=2012-08-03 |access-date=2012-10-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323222701/http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/news-nouv/nr-cp/2010/doc_32486.html |archive-date=2012-03-23 }}</ref>

This statement comes after [[Richard Colvin (diplomat)|Richard Colvin]] spoke before a parliamentary committee stating that he warned for a full year that detainees Canadian troops handed over to Afghan forces faced torture before the government began to monitor them.  “London, The Hague and Canberra [Australia] are deeply concerned about the absence of solid legal protections for detainees, which&nbsp;– in the age of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib&nbsp;– imperils domestic support for the Afghanistan mission,” said the memo of December 4, 2006, written by diplomat Richard Colvin.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wherry |first=Aaron |url=http://www.macleans.ca/2010/03/12/what-might-have-been-ii/ |title=What might have been (II) - Beyond The Commons, Capital Read |publisher=Macleans |date=2010-03-12 |access-date=2012-10-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-buck-stopped-nowhere-at-foreign-affairs-on-colvins-warnings/article4311307/ | location=Toronto | work=The Globe and Mail | first=Campbell | last=Clark | title='The buck stopped nowhere' at Foreign Affairs on Colvin's warnings&nbsp;— The Globe and Mail | date=December 18, 2009 | access-date=April 21, 2021}}</ref> [[Amir Attaran]] also brought forward testimony in stark contrast to then Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan [[David Sproule]]'s. Afgan prisoners testified that after capture by Canadians, they were subsequently handed to the custody of the [[Afghan National Army]] (ANA), claiming they were later abused by the ANA.

====Minister of Defence (2013-2015)====
In the July 15, 2013 cabinet shuffle, Nicholson switched portfolios with [[Peter Mackay]] and became the [[Minister of Defence (Canada)|Minister of Defence]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-adds-8-new-faces-in-major-cabinet-shakeup-1.1307385 | title=Harper cabinet shakeup adds new faces | publisher=CBC | date=15 July 2013 | access-date=15 July 2013}}</ref>

====Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015)====
Because of [[John Baird (Canadian politician)|John Baird]]'s resignation, Harper was forced to reshuffle his Ministry on 9 February 2015. An unexpected beneficiary of the Baird defalcation was Nicholson, who was promoted to become [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]. Nicholson's time as head of the [[Canadian Foreign Service]] was cut short when he was ejected from office on 4 November 2015 as Harper lost the [[2015 Canadian federal election|2015 election]].