Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff speaks during a news conference in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa December 18, 2009. REUTERS/Chris WattiE

OTTAWA — The Liberals will keep hammering away at Canada’s treatment of Afghan detainees, no matter how hard the Harper government tries to wriggle off topic, Michael Ignatieff vows.

“We’re not going to let this die. These guys are playing for time and it’s not going to work,” Ignatieff pledged in a year-end interview with QMI Agency that touched on pensions, patriotism and rumbles of discontent within Liberal ranks.

Speaking at Stornoway, the residence of the leader of the official opposition, Ignatieff called it an “outrage” that Tory MPs this week boycotted a committee studying how Canada’s military dealt with Afghan detainees. Opposition members have requested another meeting next week. He said Canadians soldiers, as much as civilians, want “to get to the truth of the matter.”

“I just think this is so fundamental an issue about our democracy...Canadians want a government that respects the institutions of our country.”

The detainee file boiled up when diplomat Richard Colvin testified Canada had effectively ignored the torture of suspects turned over to Afghan authorities. The Tories have spurned a parliamentary order to hand over related documents. Recent polls suggest the issue is eroding Conservative support.

Ignatieff’s own fortunes have suffered a shaky few months. Since his declaration in September that he would no longer prop up the minority Harper government — a show of bravado rapidly abandoned — the Liberals have fared poorly in byelections, struggled with their Quebec wing and stared down rumours that some members would prefer Toronto MP Bob Rae as leader.

Ignatieff said he and Rae work well together.

“Bob is obviously one of the very most talented people I’ve got...He has enormous credibility as a foreign affairs spokesman, he’s given me good, solid and loyal advice the whole time.

“Mutiny? What mutiny? Really.”

The Liberals’ task for 2010 is to spell out clearly the differences between the two main political parties. Liberal policies, Ignatieff said, will be built on the premise that in the future, carbon will have a price, the Canadian dollar will be at par with the greenback, fossil fuels will be expensive and the ageing population will increase pressure on pensions and the health care system.

On his own future, Ignatieff said he will be with his party for as long as it wants him, and said Conservative attempts in 2009 to paint him as “just visiting” Canada en route back to Harvard are “outrageous.”

“It’s basically an attack on my patriotism. It’s an attack on my commitment to my country. They have no business talking like that,” he said.

“I don’t need to prove anything to anybody.”

christina.spencer@sunmedia.ca