The first meeting of a House of Commons committee to study the release of the Winnipeg lab documents was shut down by Liberal and NDP MPs over procedural concerns, causing Tory MPs to accuse them of a “cover-up.”
The House ethics committee met on May 16 but, before a first witness could be heard, NDP MP Matthew Green raised a point of order, which allowed him to take the floor.
Mr. Green accused committee chair and Tory MP John Brassard of calling the meeting without consulting with members, and of inviting witnesses who were not initially agreed upon through the motion establishing the study.
“I find that to be an authoritarian use of your position and highly problematic,” said Mr. Green, who was supported by Liberal MPs.
“I find the way that this committee has been called completely bizarre,” said Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner.
Mr. Brassard said he invited Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard to testify, who is not on the original witness list, because she could add to the discussion. He added Ms. Maynard was about to leave Canada until June 10 and the committee had an hour slot to fill.
Mr. Green challenged the chair on his decision to go forward with the meeting.
“You can challenge me all you want,” responded Mr. Brassard. “The authority that I have as a chair to call a meeting, which I’ve done and I’ve given my reasons for, cannot be challenged, there is nothing to challenge.”
The committee is looking into the Liberal government’s several years of denying access to documents related to security breaches at the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg involving scientists linked to the Chinese regime.
Mr. Brassard eventually got the ethics committee back on the rails, and Tory MP Michael Barrett asked Ms. Maynard how many complaints her office received regarding the Winnipeg lab documents. Ms. Maynard said her office received 14 related complaints. Her office is responsible for examining allegations that the government is not respecting the Access to Information Act.
Mr. Barrett also asked about the Liberal government’s commitment to transparency, which it promised early in its tenure. “My experience is that there’s a lot more that can be done with respect to transparency,” said Ms. Maynard.
The information commissioner alerted MPs in her opening statement to a shortfall of $700,000 in her budget and limited resources to support lawsuits against the government and the processing of a high number of complaints.
Ms. Maynard said she doesn’t see access to information as being a priority for the government and has asked for legislative changes. “There hasn’t been a lot of improvement.”
After Mr. Barrett’s round of questioning, Liberal MP Darren Fisher used his turn to request an adjournment of the meeting.
“This isn’t how a well-functioning committee should work,” said Mr. Fisher, asking Mr. Brassard to find time next week to allow the committee to establish a work plan for the rest of the year.
Mr. Fisher’s motion was supported by his Liberal colleagues and Mr. Green. Bloc Québécois MP René Villemure voted against adjourning the meeting.
“You can see ... the Liberals not showing up for work today, but shutting down a meeting with the NDP, their partner in the cover-up coalition,” Mr. Barrett said in a video posted online after the meeting.
The meeting took place during constituency week, when MPs are in their ridings and other House business is on pause. Three Tory MPs attended the meeting in person, while others participated remotely.
Mr. Barrett said the Liberal government blocked the release of the documents and is now “blocking the hearings, silencing the officials who are here to talk about it.”
The documents were finally released in February after being reviewed by an ad hoc group of parliamentarians and neutral arbiters.
The documents show the two scientists working at the NML who were fired in 2021 were involved in multiple local security breaches and had undisclosed and extensive ties to Chinese regime entities.
