Summing up the spin on that documents release

(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Today, two different federal ministers found two different ways of saying the same thing on releasing uncensored documents to the Afghanistan committee.

It comes after the House of Commons passed a Liberal Opposition day motion last night calling on the government to release all the documents pertaining to the Afghan detainees issue that it's been holding back until now, citing national security concerns. The House motion orders that these documents "be produced in their original and uncensored form forthwith."

This afternoon, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson spun the message in the affirmative at the government's noon hour end-of-term "news conference":

"All legally-available documents will be turned over in whatever form, whether it's at the MPCC [Military Police Complaints Commission], whether it's at the committee," he said. "That's the way it should be."

At first blush, he appears to be saying YES, the government will comply with Parliament's wishes.

Until you remember that the government has a Department of Justice legal opinion bolstering their claim that releasing more information would put -- something of an urgent security nature -- at peril. So, in essence: the government feels it's done enough, but if it discovers something else harmless, sure, it will put it out there.

As Liberal Defence Critic Ujjal Dosanjh was trumpeting yesterday, the House of Commons law clerk disputes the Department's legal opinion, but clearly Nicholson doesn't share this view.

International Trade Minister Stockwell Day, speaking in his capacity as the chair of the cabinet committee on the Afghanistan mission, spun the message in negative terms earlier in the morning, and appeared prepared to pick a first-class legal fight:

"We follow the law and the law is very clear that if there are elements of security, elements that could affect the security of our soldiers or civilians, then information will be protected," Day said.

Clearly this is a big fat NO to the very notion of an uncensored document release, from Day.

Either way the message gets spun, the upshot appears to be: no more [original, uncensored] documents without a [legal] fight.

Weighing in today from Montreal, Michael Ignatieff said the issue is "about the honour of Canada" and "about fundamental democracy."

So you know what to do everyone -- lawyer up! Prepare to man the legal barricades! A heavily-billable holiday season lies ahead. It's not quite as lucrative as a public inquiry, but it will have to do for now.