Conservatives say new information obtained from the House of Commons law clerk indicates the government is still withholding documents related to the federal green fund, adding that the House cannot go back to normal business until the full unredacted documents are provided.
Meanwhile, the Liberals say they have provided all the information they can while abiding by privacy requirements.
Tory House Leader Andrew Scheer said his party received a letter on Nov. 18 from law clerk Michel Bédard, indicating that government entities are still providing documents containing redactions or with some pages being withheld.
“They’re literally keeping some documents away from the RCMP and hiding, covering up, and redacting many of these documents,” Scheer told reporters in Ottawa on Nov. 19. “This was something that was not allowed in the original House order.”
The House ordered in June the production of documents related to the federal green fund, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), so they can be sent to the RCMP.
The move came after the auditor general found SDTC, an arms-length organization funding green projects, was rife with conflicts of interest, with board members approving money for their own companies. Ottawa has since worked to dissolve SDTC and transfer its programs to the National Research Council.
The government so far hasn’t abided by the House order to provide all unredacted documents related to SDTC. This led House Speaker Greg Fergus to allow the tabling of a question of privilege motion by Scheer on the matter, and it has been on the agenda every day for weeks, pushing aside usual business.
“Such a referral would allow for a more detailed consideration of what documents remain to be submitted, what has been withheld and why, and, most importantly, how the House can ensure the intended recipient, the RCMP, is in a position to act as the House would wish it to act,” he said.
Scheer agreed and tabled a motion to that effect.
Asked by reporters whether Conservatives intend to continue on the current path, where votes related to federal expenditures could be pushed aside, Scheer said the government is to blame.
“The speaker has ruled that no other business can take place until this order has been complied with,” he said. “The Trudeau Liberals are choosing not to comply with this order, so it’s really up to them.”
The Liberal government has said its reluctance to hand over unredacted documents to the RCMP involves issues such as charter rights, saying it could be a breach of privacy for the police to obtain information in such a matter.
“The government has provided nearly 29,000 pages of documents with regards to the SDTC matter to the House of Commons. We have just done so in a way that complies with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protects the rights of Canadians, and we have done so in a way that protects police independence and separation of powers in our country,” Liberal House Leader Karina Gould said on Nov. 19.
“Time is up for Conservatives to stop playing their silly, partisan, procedural games and let us all get back to the work of this place.”
RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme raised similar privacy concerns in July, but he later confirmed in October his organization received some of the documents from the House production order and an investigation is ongoing.
