Opposition MPs emerged from an unofficial Afghanistan committee meeting Wednesday to say they will take every measure available to sort out what the Conservative government knew about allegations of detainee torture.
"When Parliament finally gets back, and the committee finally gets back to work, we are going to have to explore every possible avenue to ensure, not only that the will of Parliament is respected but, frankly, that there is an investigation that is worthy of the name," Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said. "The government is clearly trying to block an investigation."
The government has refused opposition demands that it turn over documents related to the transfer of detainees from Canadian troops to Afghan authorities who are accused of subjecting the prisoners to torture. Critics, and even people like Tom Flanagan, a University of Calgary political science professor who has been a close adviser of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have said the House was prorogued to halt an investigation into the detainee issue.
The government could be found in contempt of Parliament if the documents are not produced when the prorogation ends in March.
Conservative MPs have refused to attend meetings of the Commons committee on Afghanistan since the start of the Christmas break. And they also boycotted the meeting on Wednesday, which was not official because of prorogation.
Mr. Rae said he is not afraid to take any action, including Parliamentary censure of the government, to get to the bottom of the matter. But, whatever steps are taken must be "done in all seriousness and not as some kind of frivolous exercise," he said.
"It is a very serious business. We are not being given access to information which is crucial for our work as parliamentarians."
New Democrat MP Paul Dewar said he plans to write Justice Minister General Rob Nicholson to ask for the requested documents to be released.
"When he says 'yes, I will,' well great, we'll get on with it," Mr. Dewar said. "But maybe he won't. And if he says no, then obviously we'll have contempt of Parliament and we'll proceed that way. … We need to have on the record the government saying that they will not provide access to these documents."
A story in the Sun chain of newspapers on Wednesday says the Conservatives are preparing a flyer that will arrive in mailboxes this week accusing the Liberals of questioning the actions of Canadian troops as they have pursued the torture allegations.
The householder, known as a 10-per-center, apparently highlights quotes from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and other Grit MPs - including one that, according to the Conservatives, suggests the Liberals are accusing soldiers of committing war crimes.
Mr. Rae said that tactic is typical of the Conservatives.
"A couple months ago they accused me of being anti-Semitic. They have accused us of coddling criminals. They specialize in these smears. It's just nonsense," Mr. Rae said. "It again treats a very serious issue about Canada and about what we're all about as a country as a purely frivolous exercise in political partisanship."