Afghan records denial is privilege breach

Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has ruled that the federal Conservative government violated parliamentary privilege by refusing to provide uncensored documented regarding the treatment of Afghan detainees, and that the government must provide the documents to the opposition (and the public) within two weeks. While making his ruling this afternoon, the speaker pressed MPs and party leaders to bring forth a "workable accommodation" for all "without compromising the security and confidentiality contained." Milliken found that Parliament had the right to press the government in December to provide the uncensored documents to the members of the special Parliamentary committee investigating claims that prisoners were tortured after being handed over to the Afghan secret police. Milliken said Parliament's order to present the documents was "clear" and by the book, but had no stipulation to guard undisclosed information in the documents. The speaker in his address to Parliament said:

It is the view of the chair that accepting an unconditional authority of the executive to censor the information provided to Parliament would, in fact, jeopardize the very separation of powers that is purported to lie at the heart of our parliamentary system and the independence of its constituent parts. Furthermore, it risks diminishing the inherent privileges of the House and its members, which have been earned and must be safeguarded..

Parliament passed an opposition motion last year on December 10, which mandated that the Harper government provide uncensored documents regarding Aghan detainees. The Harper government ignored the order, justifying their defiance that it would violate national security. As a result, opposition MPs from all three parties gave questions of privilege to the Speaker Milliken in March, which called for numerous Conservative government ministers to be found in contempt of Parliament. The opposition argued that the will of Parliament supercedes that of the prime minister, which is a basic component of Canadian democracy.

Liberal Party and Leader of the Official Opposition Michael Ignatieff said Milliken's ruling was "a clear victory for Parliament, for the people of Canada, for democracy and a clear defeat for the Conservative government." Ignatieff will have Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale mee with the Conservative House leader to resolved the situation in the next two weeks "that vindicates the right of the Canadian people to have documents and also respects the considerations of national security." Ignatieff said:

I'm absolutely convinced what the Speaker is saying to us is that you can trust an MP to respect the national security of our country. What's changed is the Speaker, the highest authority in our Parliament, has said, 'Sort it out'.

New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton said Milliken's ruling was a "very strong and important ruling.":

The Speaker stood up for members of Parliament and for the people elected by the people of Canada against a Harper government that simply wanted to act in a contemptuous way towards Parliament.

The Conservative government will apparently have Justice Minister Rob Nicholson respond to Milliken's decision soon. There is speculation that the Conservative government may say the ruling is non-confidence in their government and hold a vote in Parliament on the matter, which could result in a sudden federal election. Also, the Harper government could as the Supreme Court to examine the matter.

Allegations that Canadian forces turned prisoners over to the Afghan secret police, who were then tortured, have been under investigation by a parliamentary committee and a civilian-managed army watchdog group. The Conservative government has denied all of the allegations, but they have been contradicted by General Walter Natynczyk. The Harper government then appointed retired Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to review the documents to decide what can be released. However the opposition said it was a delay tactic to avoid disclosures regarding what the Conservative government knew about the treatment of detainees, and when the government became aware of the situation. The opposition also argued that Iacobucci's review could take months and that the government is under no obligation to make his findings public.