Detainee documents to be handed over: Cannon

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon's pledge to provide documents to the committee looking into the Afghan detainee affair is being met with skepticism from the opposition.

Cannon told the House of Commons on Tuesday the documents would be delivered before the committee’s meeting the next day.

But Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff asked what guarantee can be made that all documents will be made public without being redacted or censored. 

"After weeks of withholding evidence, how are Canadians supposed to be believe now the government will provide full and uncensored documents to the committee so that it can get at the truth of the matter?" Ignatieff asked during question period.

Opposition MPs have demanded access to all government documents relevant to allegations made by Richard Colvin, a former senior diplomat with Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Colvin alleged that prisoners were turned over to Afghanistan prison officials by the Canadian military in 2006-07 despite his warnings to Canadian officials that they would be tortured.

MPs also want Colvin's reports to the government made public. The Tories have repeatedly said the committee will get "all legally available" documents.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the documents need to be vetted by the Justice Department to ensure nothing is disclosed that could pose national security risks.

"There’s a mandatory obligation on public officials to ensure that when information is released that it is in compliance with the Canada Evidence Act," MacKay said.

Mackay said that, in fact, that legislation was made more robust by the previous Liberal government

"We want to protect operational matters — information received from other countries, other sources, confidential sources, national security. Those are the reasons these documents are being examined by the Department of Justice."

With support from New Democrats, Liberals and the Bloc Québécois, MPs passed an NDP motion calling for a public inquiry into the treatment of Afghan detainees by a vote of 146 to 129.

However, the motion is not binding on the Conservative government, which has already said it will not call an inquiry.