Afghan records deal reached without NDP

TheNDP is refusing to endorse adeal reached between the Conservative government and other opposition parties to grant MPs access to uncensored documents relating to Afghan detainee transfers.

Government House leader Jay Hill rose in the Commons on Monday morning to announce he expected Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc Qubcois Leader Gilles Duceppe to sign the agreement "in very short order."

It came shortly after New Democratrepresentative Jack Harrisemerged from aTuesday morning all-partymeeting andsaidthedeal reached between the other three parties is too narrow andhis party can't support it.Harris alsoreiterated his party's calls for a full public inquiry.

"We're not part of it,"Harris told reporters on Parliament Hill. "This will not get at the truth. This will not allow parliamentarians to see all unredacted documents."

Liberal House leader Ralph Goodaletold the Commonsthe success of the agreement will depend on the "honest behaviour" of all parties involved and vowed the Liberals "will continue to be alert and vigilant in the process."

Last month, House Speaker Peter Milliken ruled the Conservatives breached parliamentary privilege by denying MPs access to uncensored material pertaining to detainee transfers by Canadian soldiers.A specialparliamentary committee on the Afghanistan mission is examining allegations detainees weretortured after they were handed over to Afghan officials.

The Conservatives and the Canadianmilitaryhave steadfastly denied that Canadian officials were aware of allegations the Afghansecurity forcestortured detainees, but the government has refused to make public thousands of pages of documents related to the transfers without major redactions.

In his ruling, Milliken called on all parties to reach a compromiseregarding the documents that would respect Parliament's right to review the material, while also ensuring national security concerns are addressed.

Bloc House leader PierrePaquette said the deal respects the Speaker's ruling and will allow agroup of chosen MPs to have the option to report back to the House if they think it's necessary.

After all parties reached a tentative deal four weeks ago, opposition leaders accused the Conservative government of dragging its heels in subsequent negotiations to finalize the agreement.

MPs can't see cabinet records: NDP

The compromise called for a committee of MPs totake an oath of confidentiality and examine unredacted documents to determine whether the material was relevant to allegations that Afghan authorities tortured prisoners that were handed over by Canadian troops.

Under the compromise, documents deemed relevant would then be passed on to a panel of experts who would determine how to release the information to all MPs and the public "without compromising national security."

But the NDP's Harris said the current dealprevents MPs from reviewingall material becausea panel of jurists will vet documents the government claims to be matters of cabinet confidentiality or solicitor-client privilege before deciding whether to hand them over to politicians.

"We believe it fails the test of people having trust in this process, and we think it's a no go," Harris said.

But the Liberals' Goodale disagreed with the NDP's argument, saying the government has surrendered unilateral control over the documents and "all relevant and necessary information will be available."

The Liberals also announced former leader Stphane Dion and MP Byron Wilfert would represent their party on the panel.