O'Toole says national security committee being used to cover up scientists' firing
Erin O'Toole pulled Conservative MPs from a special national security committee Thursday, accusing the government of using it to cover up an incident that caused two scientists at Canada's highest security laboratory to be fired.
The Conservative leader told the House of Commons his party's members are withdrawing "effectively immediately" from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
The committee "is now being used as a political tool by the prime minister to cover up the Winnipeg lab incident," O'Toole charged.
"Conservatives will never be complicit in the Liberal corruption."
Health Minister Patty Hajdu accused the Conservatives of playing political games with national security.
But shortly thereafter, all opposition parties joined forces to pass a Conservative motion declaring that the Public Health Agency of Canada is in contempt of Parliament, having refused to obey a House order to produce unredacted documents related to the firing of scientists Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, in January.
The pair had been escorted out of Winnipeg's National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 over what PHAC has described as "relating to possible breaches in security protocols."
The motion also summons PHAC president Iain Stewart to appear before the bar of the House of Commons on Monday, to be admonished by the Speaker and to produce the documents.
Calling someone to the bar of the House is a rarely used procedure to essentially publicly shame a person who has committed "an offence against the dignity or authority of Parliament," according to House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition.
Since 1913, it has not been used against a private citizen, although it has been used twice, in 1991 and 2002, to discipline MPs who had grabbed the ceremonial mace during heated Commons proceedings.
Stewart and Hajdu have both said the scientists' firing had nothing to do with the fact that Qiu oversaw a shipment of Ebola and Henipah viruses to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology in March 2019.
They've also said there's no connection to COVID-19, a coronavirus that first appeared in China's Wuhan province and which some believe may have been released accidentally by the virology institute.
Nevertheless, opposition parties continue to suspect a link and are demanding to see unredacted documents about both the transfer of viruses to the Wuhan institute and the subsequent firings.
Stewart has twice refused to comply with a Canada-China relations committee order to produce those documents, saying federal Justice officials have advised him that would be a breach of privacy laws, could interfere in an ongoing police investigation and jeopardize national security.
Opposition parties joined forces earlier this month to pass a motion in the Commons ordering PHAC to turn over all unredacted documents to the parliamentary law clerk, who would confidentially review them and redact anything he felt would compromise national security or the ongoing police investigation.
It specified that the Canada-China relations committee, after consulting with the law clerk, could choose to make public any redacted material.
Instead, the minority Liberal government provided the unredacted documents to the all-party national security committee, whose members must have top security clearance and are bound to secrecy.
That committee, created in 2017 to review sensitive matters, submits classified reports to the prime minister, which are later tabled in Parliament in edited form.
Speaker Anthony Rota ruled Wednesday that it is not a committee of Parliament and, therefore, not an acceptable alternative to having a Commons committee examine the documents.
He further ruled that the Commons and its committees have unfettered power to order the production of documents, no matter how sensitive, and to determine how they're to be handled. Consequently, he found there's a prima facie case that the government has breached parliamentary privileges.
But Hajdu continued to argue Thursday that the national security committee is the "appropriate" body to examine the documents.
"Once again, we see Conservatives playing games with national security and on this side of the House we will never do that," she told the Commons.
O'Toole countered that the national security committee "is not allowed, by law, to review active investigations."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2021.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP wants Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
Doug Ford suggests immigrants behind Jewish school shooting
Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested immigrants are to blame for the shooting of an empty Jewish school in Toronto over the weekend, despite police saying they have little information on the suspects.
Supreme Court won't hear appeal in Montreal brainwashing experiments case
The Supreme Court of Canada will not review a Quebec ruling that bars people from suing the U.S. government in Canada over its role in notorious brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital.
Donald Trump can sue niece over NY Times article, court rules
A New York state appeals court said Donald Trump can sue his niece Mary Trump for giving the New York Times information for its Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 probe into his finances and his alleged effort to avoid taxes.
Shania Twain shares how she forgave her ex-husband's cheating: 'It's his mistake'
Shania Twain recently addressed the infidelity that rocked her marriage to Robert 'Mutt' Lange, whom she divorced in 2010 after he had an affair with her friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.
Teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of homeless man in downtown Toronto
One of eight teen girls charged in the death of a homeless man in downtown Toronto has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Princess of Wales to miss major military display next month amid cancer treatment
Catherine, Princess of Wales, will not be returning to royal duties with an appearance at the Colonel’s Review, a military parade in London in early June, as she continues her treatment for cancer.
Police arrest 19-year-old suspect after Montreal triple homicide
Police have made an arrest following a deadly street fight that ended with three people killed in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough last week.
Local Spotlight
Video shows driver in Toronto frantically getting out of car being pushed by truck
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island celebrates first-ever International Day of Potato
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
'Bigger and better and stronger than ever': Covered Bridge Chips president sets sights for late 2025 rebuild after fire
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.
Winnipeg high school helps lead ducks that nested in courtyard to water
Students and staff at Winnipeg’s Westwood Collegiate had a unique problem to solve this month; how do you lead ducks to water from the school’s courtyard when 12 of them can’t fly yet?
Questions and concerns remain after space junk lands in Saskatchewan
Debby Lorinczy remembers her father as an amazing person and as a man who also made an amazing discovery.
Ski jumper Abigail Strate getting a buzz out of working with bees
Abigail Strate is a member of the Canadian national ski jumping team and an Olympic bronze medallist. She's also a certified beekeeper.
Oilers superfan hopeful Edmonton wins so he can get his massive Stanley Cup tattoo retouched
It's been a long time coming, but one Oilers superfan is hoping this will be the year he gets to touch up his massive Stanley Cup back tattoo.
WATCH Alta. man rescues wild foal trapped on steep cliffside
A man's daring rescue of a newborn wild foal that was trapped after falling down a steep embankment was caught on video over the weekend.
'Forgot how fun this was': Winnipeg man competing in World Pinball Championship
A Winnipeg pinball wizard is heading to the granddaddy of them all – the IFPA World Pinball Championship.