(The following article is from the July 1-31,  2010 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)

By Michael Oosting

     After years of persistent lobbying, the push to publicize documents pertaining to the role of Canadian forces in turning over Afghan detainees to face torture has been dealt another blow. The largest parties, the Conservatives, the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois, have signed an agreement to review the reports the Conservatives claim to be relevant to the issue - without the NDP.

     During the debate over an agreement to review the issue collectively, the NDP called for all documents to be made public, and to establish a public inquiry into the issue. This demand was widely supported by the anti-war movement and civil liberties groups.

     In response, the Conservatives stated that though they could share some of the papers, not all documents could be made public in the interest of "national security". Ignatieff's Liberals and Duceppe's Bloc jumped on this half-measure to maintain the farce that their respective parties were a leading force on the issue. The Liberals even called the NDP's concerns "horsefeathers".

     The current agreement between the Conservatives, the Liberals and the Bloc bars MPs from looking at confidential cabinet documents or papers protected for reasons of solicitor-client privilege. The six MPs represented on the committee are not permitted to record, copy, or take notes on the documents they view, nor share their contents in any way.

     This comes only months after Harper effectively suspended parliamentary hearings on the detainee issue, stating that "that's not on the top of the radar of most Canadians." Though the Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken, eventually ordered Harper to release the documents, the Conservatives waited until six weeks after the deadline set by Milliken to create the current agreement.

     The NDP accused the Conservatives of purposefully stalling and delaying negotiations, and called on Milliken to find that the agreement falls short of his April 27th ruling, which confirmed MPs' absolute right to unfettered access to all uncensored detainee documents. Milliken, however, has given his seal of approval to the deal.

     Little noticed in the final terms is a clause which suspends the agreement whenever PM Harper dissolves Parliament. Renewal of the deal would require the agreement of all three opposition leaders. In other words, if Harper decides to call an election before Parliament reconvenes, absolutely nothing will have been gained.

     Once again, the Harper Tories have ignored public opinion, plus a ruling by the Speaker, to protect their own partisan interests. The losers in this "agreement" are the people of Canada, who are kept in the dark on this vital matter, and the people of occupied Afghanistan.