Our Departments of Foreign Affairs and Defence appear to be scandal-magnets of the first order. Yesterday defence minister Peter MacKay had a "Bernier" moment which may eventually lead to his resignation if the issue is rightfully and thoroughly followed up.

Globe and Mail: Generals dismiss diplomat

The issue: It has been made clear that civilians testifying before the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan (AFGH) on Thursday had in their possession classified documents which the committee itself has asked for but not been granted access to in even a redacted form.

The civilians in question? Retired general Rick Hiller and retired Lieutenant-general Michel Gauthier.

These documents should no more be in their hands than yours or mine or even in the possession of Mme. Julie Couillard.

Couillard you'll remember as the gal-pal of the former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier who was forced to resign over his having left reams of secret documents in Coulliard's apartment over a period of many weeks.

Globe and Mail: Warnings emailed to MacKay's Office

Now it's MacKay's turn, it seems, to hand out documents to his boy-buddies. MacKay is the former boss of these generals and both he and the generals, as well as the government of the day, have a vested interest in shutting down the line of inquiry currently taking place in AFGH. How did these civilians get access to the documents? It seems only logical that they would have come straight from MacKay's office, and one CBC journalist tried to get a straight answer from the Minister on just that question.

Watch the video (CBC: 01:05 minutes long)

The question: Why were two retired generals able to access secret-classified documents, ostensibly in preparation for their testimony at the Afghanistan hearings on Thursday? Documents which the AFGH committee has asked for repeatedly but been denied?

MacKay's answer: I don't know. Smirk. I don't tamper with witnesses. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Walk away.

Is this a big deal? Yes, on two fronts. Giving out classified documents to civilians is a probable breach of the Security of Information Act. But of greater to concern to us all we expect our government to deal with matters in a fair and principled manner. If the government subverts the efforts of its own committees, how can Canadians have any confidence that matters of any sort are being dealt with in a fair and just manner?

Doling out classified documents only to witnesses friendly to the government's position, but not affording the same access to the government's own committee searching for the truth behind these very serious allegations, is quite clearly a breach of the public trust. Canadians want and deserve nothing less than the truth but the Conservative government often looks at truth as its adversary. That is something we should all be concerned about.