EXPLAINER: Why the House of Commons Remains Deadlocked

The chamber of the House of Commons is seen from the Speaker’s chair on Sept. 12, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

A House of Commons order for the government to hand over the documents related to a green technology foundation has escalated into a Parliamentary gridlock that is showing no end in sight.

For over a week, Conservative MPs have carried on debate about the Liberal government’s refusal to provide unredacted documents related to Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) alleged misspending of taxpayers’ money. The Tories want the RCMP to investigate the issue, and say the police force should have access to unredacted documents.

The Liberals have released some documents, though not all the requested information. They say releasing more could be a violation of privacy rights under the Charter and the request to release to the RCMP could blur the lines between Parliament and the judiciary.

The House of Commons passed a motion in June saying the government must hand over all documents. Tories say this is a matter of parliamentary privilege—that is, it relates to the powers and rights of the House. Failure to comply violates parliamentary privilege, they say, and House Speaker Greg Fergus has said that argument has credence.

Following a recommendation from Fergus, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer introduced a motion on Sept. 26 to send the matter to committee. That motion is still being debated. Since privilege issues generally take precedence over other parliamentary business, the government hasn’t been able to advance any bills in the House.

SDTC Suspended

The federal government suspended SDTC’s ability to fund new projects in the fall of 2023 after receiving whistleblower allegations and commissioned a third-party review of the claims.

Auditor General Karen Hogan said in a June report on SDTC that her office found 90 breaches of conflict of interest rules, including directors voting to provide money to their own companies. Ms. Hogan found these conflicts were linked to $76 million in funding. The same day Hogan’s report was released, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced the agency’s programs would be transferred to the National Research Council.

In a separate report released in July, Ethics Commissioner Konrad W. von Finckenstein said former SDTC chair Annette Verschuren had breached the Conflict of Interest Act by not recusing herself and by participating in decisions benefiting her personal interests. He alleged that Verschuren continued to serve on the board of two non-profit corporations, remained the CEO of another company she founded, and participated in two types of SDTC funding decisions for corporations she was involved with.

Liberal Concerns Over Charter Rights

The House of Commons passed a motion introduced by Conservatives in June ordering the government and SDTC to hand over records related to the green fund within 30 days. The vote passed 174–148, with only the Liberals voting against it. Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull said that while there had been “lapses” in the fund’s management, cabinet was taking action to address it and there was no evidence of criminal behaviour that warranted RCMP involvement.

In late September, House Speaker Greg Fergus ruled that the Liberals had not complied with the order to hand over the SDTC documents. He said in some instances, only partial disclosures were made due to redactions, while in other cases the House order was refused altogether.

House Leader Karina Gould has argued that the House order may trespass on certain charter rights around police investigations and privacy, adding that the order exceeded the authority of the House by attempting to secure documents for a third party, the RCMP.

Fergus said in his ruling that the House has the “undoubted right to order the production of any and all documents from any entity or individual,” while also noting that it was “unusual, novel and unprecedented.”

Complicating matters further is the fact that the RCMP has said it already received redacted versions of the documents the government provided to the House, and does not know whether it can legally use documents handed over by Parliament as part of an investigation.

NDP Supports Tory Motion, Bloc Still Considering

During Question Period on Oct. 2, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Conservatives of wanting to “play politics with Canadians’ charter rights” and said the party was attempting to gain control over the judicial process. “That’s banana republic-style behaviour that the Conservative Party is pushing. We will always stand up for Canadians’ charter rights and the independence of our institutions,” he said.

In response, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the Liberals were effectively arguing that the charter gave the government the right to allow executives to take taxpayers’ money, give it to their own companies, and then hide the evidence from police. He added that Canadians have the “charter right to know where their money went.”

“We’re not just going to let $400 million of corruption be swept under the rug,” Poilievre told reporters on Oct. 8. “So we say, let’s end this now. Let’s get Parliament back to work by handing over the documents to the police.”

After two failed non-confidence motions since Parliament reconvened in mid-September, the Conservatives have indicated they will introduce a third motion in an attempt to bring down the government, referencing the ongoing SDTC matter, the $60 million ArriveCan app, and numerous ethics law violations by Liberal MPs.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has also thrown his support behind the Conservative party on the SDTC stalemate, telling reporters on Oct. 9 that there’s “nothing stopping” the documents from being released to the police.

“The ball is the government’s court. They could do the right thing, move forward on accountability, and Parliament can move ahead,” he said, while also blaming Conservative MPs for “blocking everything” in the House of Commons.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters the same day that he may help end the stalemate in the House, but that this would depend on the federal government giving a royal recommendation to Bill C-319. That legislation would amend the Old Age Security Act and give those aged 65 to 74 the same 10 percent increase in Old Age Security benefits previously granted to people aged 75 and over.

Blanchet has said unless the Liberal government passes C-319 as well as Bill C-282 dealing with supply management, he will start negotiations with the other parties to bring down the government.

On Oct. 2, Liberal MPs voted against a Bloc motion recommending a royal recommendation for Bill C-319, saying it would set a precedent for an opposition day being used to get a royal recommendation.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.