The Liberals are urging the government to give more powers to the retired Supreme Court judge who will decide which documents to make public on the Afghan detainee issue.
During Question Period yesterday, Liberal MP Bob Rae said lawyer Frank Iacobucci should be able to see all of the documents he wants, and not just those provided by the government.
"Mr. Iacobucci does not have the power to subpoena the documents," Mr. Rae said in the House. "Why not have a public inquiry and give Mr. Justice Iacobucci the powers that he so richly deserves to do the job that Canadians want him to do?"
The government defended Mr. Iacobucci's mandate and said the opposition should simply wait to see the results of his work.
"He also will not need to subpoena documents because the government has been incredibly clear that we will provide him with all of the relevant documents," said Transport Minister John Baird.
"Let Justice Iacobucci conduct his review, let him report back to Parliament, let him report back to Canadians who have confidence in a man of this character," Mr. Baird added.
Mr. Iacobucci was hired as a special adviser earlier this month to prepare a report to be tabled in the House that will include a description of his methodology and findings.
On the weekend, the government released Mr. Iacobucci's terms of reference, calling on him to determine whether the documents pose a risk to Canada's international relations, national defence or national security. When the government proposes to block certain passages or documents, Mr. Iacobucci will be expected to state whether the public interest outweighs the dangers in releasing them.
But NDP MP Jack Harris said the job should be handled by parliamentarians.
"The people who are elected are the ones whose job it is to determine what's the public interest," he said.
The Bloc Québécois also urged the government to provide all documents to a parliamentary inquiry, which would then study them in camera.
But Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said that the documents are too sensitive to be handled that way.
"We all have a stake in the safety and security of Canadians here, and I think the honourable member should welcome the efforts and the work of Mr. Justice Iacobucci," he said.