Liberal MP Derek Lee plans to challenge the government over its refusal to produce documents related to the alleged torture of Afghan detainees – but he said Tuesday he does not want to pre-empt important matters of Parliament including the Throne Speech and the budget.
Mr. Lee has told Speaker Peter Milliken he wants to raise a point of privilege, arguing that Defence Minister Peter MacKay and an assistant deputy minister in the Justice Department “obstructed” the release of the documents by stating a “false basis” for withholding them.
He also says the Conservative government is in contempt of Parliament for not producing the documents in defiance of a motion passed by the House of Commons on Dec. 10.
The rules around matters of privilege state they must be raised at the earliest possible time and that they take precedence over other business. So, in theory, if Mr. Milliken heard Mr. Lee’s complaint at the earliest moment and accepted that parliamentary privilege had been violated, the ensuing debate could push aside the budget speech scheduled Thursday.
But Mr. Lee told reporters on Tuesday morning that derailing the budget is not his intention.
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“This is a peculiar sequencing of timing here. The House is in prorogation. It comes back tomorrow with a Speech from the Throne. I am pretty sure Canadians and my colleagues in the House would not want me to interrupt that,” he said.
“Then, the next day, the government has scheduled a budget speech. And I am pretty sure my colleagues in the House and the Speaker and Canadians wouldn’t want me to interrupt that. That has national significance.”
So Mr. Lee said he will discuss the timing of his point of privilege with Mr. Milliken to see if it can be introduced in a way that does not impede other important Parliamentary business.
“I don’t want to create a procedural difficulty for the week that’s been planned. But I do want to get the matter before the House. So something later in the week, Thursday or Friday, would be the window,” he said.
The government argues that national security issues prevent it from disclosing all of the documents related to the handling of Afghan detainees and allegations that they were tortured after being handed over to Afghan authorities.
Mr. Milliken could wait until after the budget has been released Thursday to hear Mr. Lee’s point of privilege. He could also hear the complaint Wednesday or Thursday morning and then take time to rule on it, allowing the budget to be released in the interim. Or he could hear the point of privilege before the budget is released and decide immediately that parliamentary privilege has been breached.
In that case, Mr. Lee would be allowed to introduce a motion ordering Mr. MacKay and the Justice Department bureaucrat to explain their actions, and instructing the Sergeant-at-Arms to obtain the documents by written request, and, if that is unsuccessful, by seizing them.
Mr. Milliken would then have to decide which takes precedence, the debate on the motion of parliamentary privilege or the release of the budget – a complex and politically charged ruling that political observers say is unprecedented.
Mr. Lee said the actual substance of his motion and even the specifics of his points of privilege are still being determined. The draft of his motion requires that documents that could breach national security be disclosed to politicians but not the public at large.
But he is adamant that the government must respect the vote of Parliament that ordered the release of the documents. “Ignoring Parliament, that just can’t be done,” he told reporters. “A government would do it at its peril and I hope Canadians see it that way.”
The Liberals say they are willing to drop their demand for the documents if the government calls a judicial inquiry into the detainee affair.
(Photo: Pawel Dwulit/The Canadian Press)
