OTTAWA - A parliamentary committee heard allegations that political interference motivated the federal government to hide a scathing human-rights report on the treatment of detainees in Afghan jails.
It happened after Conservative members spent five hours Thursday trying to block the start of an ethics committee investigation into the handling of Access to Information Act requests involving prisoners.
It was just one of several examples of paralysis on Parliament Hill as the government filibustered or completely shut down committees where they were isolated against a united opposition.
The first two witnesses to testify on the Afghan coverup claims were left to cool their heels at the Commons ethics committee. MPs spent most of the day arguing over the order of who should testify and whether the hearings should be closed to the public.
When they were finally allowed to testify, they led committee members in detail through the complicated paper trail of their information requests.
"I do believe there was political interference, let me unambiguous about that,'' said University of Ottawa law professor Amir Attaran.
Jeff Esau, a freelance journalist and former army officer, did not repeat Attaran's accusation.
But he told the committee he's noticed a "chill'' going through the ranks of the civil service when it comes to information related to Afghan prisoners.
"There is a very obvious reluctance for anybody to talk about it,'' he said in response to an opposition question. "When you talk about stonewalling, I'm not sure it's a cold-blooded `here we're going to do this'.''
In a formal information request, Esau asked the Foreign Affairs Department earlier this year for copies of a study that analyzes the human rights reports of countries around the world.
When bureaucrats said no such report existed, the former military access-to-information officer wrote back to ensure the wording of his request was correct.
"I wanted to be very clear on this and . . . she wrote back and she said: we feel we've answered the letter of your request,'' he said.
"I battled the department to a standstill on this one and even with gentle persuading and prodding they were not willing to come out and say `here's what we've got'.''
It was only after Esau quoted the specific name of the human-rights report on Afghanistan that the Foreign Affairs information officer responded that records did exist and it would cost $1,000 to search the archives.
Attaran, who first raised concerns about the treatment of detainees in Afghan jails, told the committee it's clear the department's response to Esau was a "flagrant lie'' in violation of the law.
Section 67 of the Access to Information Act makes it a criminal offence for the government to withhold information.
In negotiating with bureaucrats over his own similar information request, Attaran was told that the report he wanted would have to be reviewed before being released.
"I asked who was going to review the document, he (the information bureaucrat) declined to answer,'' Attaran testified.
"I asked him if it was a sign of political interference. He declined to answer.''
Later under questioning by the committee, Attaran said he had no concrete evidence to back up his claim and that it was up to the committee, the information commissioner and possibly the RCMP to uncover the truth. In his complaint to the information commissioner, Attaran has urged Robert Marleau to call for a police investigation.
The testimony, particularly of Attaran, was treated with skepticism by Conservatives.
"The professor has his theories and he's entitled to his theories,'' said Ontario Tory David Tilson.
"I want to hear from the people from the ministry. I want to hear from the information commissioner.''
Earlier in the day, Tory MPs Mike Wallace and Scott Reid stalled the detainee probe, arguing they were not prepared for the witnesses and that the committee should seek legal advice.
The tactic has played itself out repeatedly on Parliament Hill this week.
The Conservatives have shut down or delayed committees after finding themselves isolated and outnumbered by the opposition.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said the Tories are in disarray.
"I think this is a government in panic,'' Dion said.
"They've had so many problems with Afghanistan, with official languages, with their environmental plan, there's criticism everywhere. . . . Their only response is to act in a more and more vicious way.''
The pattern began at the official languages committee.
The government shut it down when its opponents voted to oust the chair. The opposition was upset at Tory chair Guy Lauzon for cancelling a meeting to study the impact of the government's decision to eliminate a legal-aid program for minority groups.
There were no Conservatives present Thursday when the committee met unofficially to hear from Gisele Lalonde.
The Ontario woman's fight to keep a French-language hospital open in her province was supported by the recently cancelled Court Challenges Program.
Lalonde called the move a "scandal.''
