"The Conservative government [in Canada] has violated the Constitution and will be in contempt of Parliament if it continues to refuse to release uncensored documents regarding the Afghan detainee issue, a constitutional law professor says," reports the CBC. "The executive is really placing itself above Parliament. For the first time that I know in Canadian history, the executive is saying we are superior to Parliament," said Errol Mendes, a University of Ottawa professor who was speaking at an informal hearing of the parliamentary committee looking into the Afghanistan detainee issue. Mendes was referring to the Harper government's refusal to hand over uncensored documents, despite a motion passed in the House of Commons to do so. "This is nothing more than an open defiance of Parliament. Nothing more, nothing less," he said. READ MORE

Canadian Afghan detainee issue:

The Canadian Afghan detainee contoversy is an ongoing series of claims that the Canadian government knew about abusive treatment of Afghan detainees by the Afghan National Army (ANA) or the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS), after they were captured by the Canadian Forces and transferred to them. Article 12 of the Third Geneva Convention states "Prisoners of war may only be transferred by the Detaining Power to a Power which is a party to the Convention and after the Detaining Power has satisfied itself of the willingness and ability of such transferee Power to apply the Convention." READ MORE