On CBC radio last week, Liberal MP Derek Lee argued strenuously that he and any of his colleagues had the right to obtain any Afghan detainee document, and that MPs also had the right to make the documents public. No ifs, no doubts and no restrictions, according to Mr. Lee.
This being The Current, his argument went unopposed. However, before Members of Parliament head over the cliff taking their concept of parliamentary privilege with them, they should consider the government's proposal to break the impasse very carefully.
In doing so, they should not shy away from proposing amendments to Frank Iacobucci's mandate and to the timing of his report. However, they should understand that if they reject the proposal outright, the Conservatives' next move will be to refer the dispute to the Supreme Court of Canada for a ruling. And, if the nine Justices are forced to choose between a process that has their former colleague determining whether officials went too far in censoring the documents in the name of national security, and Derek Lee's arcane views of parliamentary privilege, the score will resemble one of those lopsided results we saw during the Olympics in women's hockey. On that you, and they, can count.