OTTAWA – The New Democratic Party pulled out of a proposed deal Tuesday to allow MPs to see secret Afghan detainee documents.
MP Jack Harris said the process "will not get at the truth."
He expected the Conservatives, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois to sign onto the deal and try to proceed without the NDP.
The deal by the other three parties was announced in the House of Commons by government House leader Jay Hill.
Bloc Quebecois House leader MP Pierre Paquette told reporters he is "100 per cent" confident the MPs will see the documents they need to see "to find the truth."
Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale said the deal "properly respects the sovereignty of Parliament" and protects national security and the safety of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
However, the New Democrats said a public inquiry should be held instead into Canada’s handling of Afghan detainees.
"The proposal denies the rights of Parliament, allows the government to hijack the process and doesn’t live up to spirit or terms of the Speaker’s ruling," NDP Leader Jack Layton said in a written statement.
" The other parties were willing to accept compromises that we believe would prevent the truth from coming out. This is very much like the Blue Ribbon panel on EI that the Conservatives talked the Liberals into last June. And what happened there? Absolutely nothing.
"The Conservatives played the Liberals for dupes all summer long."
An agreement in principle was reached three weeks ago for a committee of MPs and jurists to review documents after the House of Commons Speaker ruled that Parliament has a right to know.
But Harris said the devil is the detail and MPs won’t be given enough access and no right to report to the public.
In the House of Commons, the NDP raised a question of privilege asking Speaker Peter Milliken to reject the deal on grounds it does not respect the supremacy of Parliament, but the other parties defended the agreement.
Hill also questioned whether the NDP had negotiated in good faith because the party announced a news conference to pull out while negotiations were still underway.
While he was disappointed the NDP did not sign on, Hill said the deal was supported by the vast majority of MPs.
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