HALIFAX - Defence Minister Peter MacKay is brushing off opposition criticism over the Conservatives' handling of abuse allegations by Afghan detainees.
The Liberals say the government lied last April when it downplayed and even denied the existence of reports that Afghan authorities were torturing prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers.
Court records show the government received detailed accounts of the alleged abuse 48 hours after the claims first appeared in media reports.
But MacKay said accusations that the government tried to cover up what it knew are "simply untrue,'' and said some information would have been dangerous to make public.
"There are certain elements of transfers -- particularly around where Taliban have been captured -- that are very sensitive as far as operational detail, that could ...put Canadians soldiers' lives at danger,'' MacKay said following a funding announcement in Halifax.
"So, there are certain aspects of disclosure around where and when and how detainees were captured that we do not release in the middle of an operation.''
MacKay insisted the government has been forthcoming with its efforts to improve the transfer of detainees amid the allegations, which he noted have not been proven.
"This is in the al Qaeda and the Taliban handbook -- they're expected to make allegations,'' said MacKay. "What we did was the responsible thing in calling for an investigation to look into these matters.''
The government has since signed a revised prisoner deal with the Afghans, giving Canadian authorities the right to check on the status of those captured.
