GATINEAU, Que. - A military watchdog will appeal a Federal Court decision limiting the scope of its investigation into alleged torture of Afghan prisoners.
The chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission, Peter Tinsley revealed the move Wednesday, as the panel resumed public hearings into complaints filed by two human-rights groups.
Last month, the courts restricted the investigation to what military police in Kandahar knew -- or should have known -- about the possible abuse of prisoners Canadian soldiers handed over to Afghanistan's notorious intelligence service for interrogation.
Justice Department lawyers argued before the commission Wednesday that public hearings should be suspended until the courts ultimately decide the scope of the investigation.
It would mean a two-month delay, said Alain Prefontaine, the lead government lawyer on the case.
"I was hopeful that when the Federal Court ruled on the proper corners of this inquiry that we'd be able to move things along more quickly," he said during a break in the hearings.
But with an appeal in the offing and the possibility a higher court could change the boundaries of the investigation, an adjournment would be the only fair solution, he said.
Tinsley could decide on an adjournment later in the day.
Beyond the government's plea to suspend the hearings, a lawyer for the former head of military police also asked for a delay.
The lawyer for retired navy captain Steve Moore, who was until last June the military's Provost Marshal, told the inquiry the federal government has given him access to some documents needed in his client's defence.
But using national security provisions, federal lawyers have barred the police commission from seeing the documents until they have been censored for possible security violations.
Prefontaine said the government is simply trying to uphold the law and is following the rules for disclosure of sensitive information.
Both he and Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Wednesday there is no attempt to obstruct the commission.
In addition, a written statement filed by a former Canadian diplomat, with information about the possible torture of Afghan prisoners, has been sealed on the grounds of national security.
Lawyers for the commission haven't been allowed to read the document filed by Richard Colvin, who worked at Canada's provincial reconstruction base in Kandahar in 2006.
He was there when Canadian troops first began handing over captured Taliban fighters to Afghan authorities and signalled to the commission that he had information on what military police knew about alleged torture in Afghan prisons.
But federal lawyers have tried to have him removed from a witness list and said information contained in his statement must be vetted under Section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act, which prohibits the release of national security information and punishes those who don't comply with up to five years in prison.
Prefontaine said he doesn't know what Colvin's statement contains -- or what information the former diplomat may possess, but defended trying to strike him from the witness list.
