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UPDATED - DocWatch: The deal is done!

Well, sort of -- no written agreement as yet, but it sounds as though the parties have managed to work out something that will meet with general approval, including that of the speaker. 

We should know more after Question Period, but at the moment, it sounds like there will, indeed, be two panels involved -- one made up of MPs chosen by each party, and another that will include outside experts, although we don't know much more than that -- other than the fact that according to the Bloc, it will be the MPs, not the experts, that make the final call on what can be made public. 

I'll post updates as we find out more -- but it sounds like we're not headed for a constitutional crisis! Well, not today, anyway. Hurray! 

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UPDATE: Here's what they've agreed to, with a full Memorandum of Understanding to come: 

An agreement in principle has been reached by all parties:

    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 3 eminent jurists. Composition of the panel must be agreed upon by the government and the opposition.  

All parties agree that the details of this proposal will be further outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by all party leaders.
 

UPDATE: The NDP is first off the mark with a celebratory press release:


AGREEMENT ON DETAINEE DOCUMENTS

BRINGS US CLOSER TO TRUTH, SAY NEW DEMOCRATS

 

OTTAWA - For the past five years, New Democrats have pressed the previous Liberal government and the current Conservative government to tell Canadians the truth about the handling of Afghan detainees. The agreement struck by all parties today is a critical step forward in holding the government to account on the issue.

 

"This is a victory for Parliamentary democracy," said New Democrat Leader Jack Layton. "The Speaker's ruling made it clear that Members of Parliament have the right to review all the information about the treatment of Afghan detainees, and not just what the government thinks MPs should see."

 

Under the terms of the agreement agreed to by all parties, a committee of MPs will review all documents in un-redacted form to determine their relevance to the study of the transfer of Afghan detainees by the House Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan. The panel's decision on the relevance of those documents will be final and unreviewable.

 

Any documents that are found to be relevant will be referred to a Panel of Expert Arbiters, who will determine how the information in those documents will be made available to all MPs, and to the public, without compromising national security. 

 

"This is a reasonable arrangement," said New Democrat Defence Critic Jack Harris. "It satisfies concerns about national security, while ensuring Canadians will learn the truth about how the government responded to the possibility of torture by the Afghan authorities to whom detainees were being transferred."

 

The New Democrat team that helped negotiate the agreement included Harris, House Leader Libby Davies and Justice Critic Joe Comartin. Layton praised them for their diligence and hard work on the issue.

 

"Our team upheld the principle of the public's right to know. I'm proud of the honourable stand they took throughout these difficult negotiations. We'll be watching closely to ensure the government respects the spirit of this agreement."

 

 

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Tags: blackberry jungle, election averted! (maybe), information might just get to be free after all, in praise of parliamentary supremacy, privilegewatch