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Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has distanced his department from one of its training manuals that lists the United States and Guantanamo Bay as places of torture.

"I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department's torture awareness training," he said in a statement released early Saturday.

"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies.

"I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten. The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As such, it does not convey the Government's views or positions."

Foreign Affairs used the manual as part of its torture awareness training -- something that stemmed from recommendations in the Arar inquiry.

Besides the U.S. prison for alleged terrorists on the island of Cuba, the manual also lists:

• Afghanistan;
• China;
• Egypt;
• Iran;
• Saudi Arabia;
• Israel; and
• Syria

Canadian Maher Arar was tortured in Syria after being "renditioned" there by the United States in 2002.

Canadian William Sampson was imprisoned and tortured in Saudi Arabia.

An uproar broke out last year when some Afghan militant detainees alleged they were tortured after Canadian forces turned them over to Afghan authorities.

The department mistakenly released the document to lawyers involved in a lawsuit centred on the alleged abuse of detainees in Afghanistan.

Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet on Saturday that "this is not an exercise in political correctness. This is about being accurate."

David Wilkins, the United States' ambassador to Canada, wanted his country off the list.

Rae noted the United States's former attorney-general Alberto Gonzales was questioned at length by lawmakers over whether techniques like waterboarding -- having water pour over someone's covered face, simulating drowning -- constituted torture.

"It took Senator (John) McCain and Senator (Barack) Obama and others to be so clear, saying the United States' government position should be against torture -- full stop."

If there is clear, irrefutable evidence that a country has engaged in torture, it should be on the list, Rae said.

CTV's Roger Smith told Newsnet that groups like Amnesty International believe it's valid to have the U.S., Israel and Guantanamo Bay on the list.

"They believe the government has clearly caved into pressure," he said.