``Creation of an ad hoc committee of parliamentarians composed of one member of Parliament and an alternate from each political party.
``Each member of the ad hoc committee will be required to take an oath of confidentiality, sign a confidentiality undertaking and will be required to obtain the appropriate security clearances.
``Access to documents will take place in a secure location.
``Appropriate security procedures will apply.
``Committee members will have access to documents in both redacted and unredacted form.
``Committee members will have access to government officials from appropriate departments to provide briefings and contextual information and reasons for protecting information.
``With respect to every unredacted document examined by the committee, the committee will determine whether the information in that document is relevant to matters of importance to members of Parliament, particularly as it relates to the ongoing study on the transfer of Afghan detainees currently under way at the House of Commons Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, and whether the use of such information is necessary for the purpose of holding the government to account. The decisions of the committee related to the relevance shall be final and unreviewable.
``Where the committee determines that such information is both relevant and necessary, or upon the request of any member of the committee, it will refer the document to a Panel of Arbiters who will determine how that relevant and necessary information will be made available to members of Parliament and the public without compromising national security_ either by redaction or the writing of summaries or such techniques as the Panel find appropriate, hearing in mind the basic objectives of maximizing disclosure and transparency. The Panel of Arbiters should regularly consult with the members of the committees to better understand what information the MPs believe to be relevant and the reason why. The decisions of the Panel of Arbiters with respect to disclosure shall be final and unreviewable.
``The Panel of Arbiters will be composed of three eminent jurists. Composition of the panel must be agreed upon by the government and the opposition.''
6 comments:
So in other words, the public will see nothing before the next election and then it won't matter? Out of sight, out of mind. Great compromise.
Way to go Opposition, I hardly see this as a coup, when you were already entitled in the first place.
An election in the fall for the purpose of giving Stevie another minority. No democracy, no audit, no votie.
I have to agree with the anonymous commentator. This is a sell-out. The committee will not report before the next election. Parliament will have been defied, and successfully.
As a Canadian who supports the mission and our people, I have every confidence they acted as honorably as they could under such conditions. Demanding Afghans treat Afghan prisoners like Canadians is the same joke, regardless of who is in power. Giving MPs access to sensitive documents is a very frightening idea for me since we can hardly trust them with our votes, most of the time.
So how's that little war going riderain?
Have we won yet?
I'm with Anon.
The Liberals will never win if they don't show some fucking balls and let Harper to whatever he wants.
I don't know Chet..
Chretien, the guy who's wears Chretien's war, won't tell us what his exit strategy was. Even Martin, the guy who put us in the front line of the fighting seems to be silent. At least Bill Graham is man enough tio stay public, if only to bring Dosajh back down to reality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJwn_gG4m9k&feature=player_embedded
"People don't start wars. Governments do."
- Ronald Reagan
Anon Deux
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