Secret lab document impasse: Conservatives reject Liberal proposal
The Official Opposition has flatly rejected a Liberal proposal to create a new House of Commons committee to comb through sensitive material relating to the firing of two scientists at Canada’s highest-security laboratory.
“Your government’s efforts to find a suitable arrangement are many months too late,” said Conservative House leader Gerard Deltell in a letter sent Wednesday, responding to a proposal from Government House Leader Mark Holland.
Deltell’s letter outlines the reasoning for their refusal to sign on to the Liberal proposal, including that in their view, past calls to produce the documents have included adequate safeguards and skepticism over the Liberals’ intentions given what he called a “pattern of behaviour concerning parliamentary accountability.”
The Conservatives have now asked House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to rule that the Liberals continued refusal to disclose the documents is in breach of parliamentary privilege. Should Rota agree, they’ve stated an intention to present a motion calling for the seizure of the documents.
Amid an impasse over how to handle the documents, the Liberals had suggested that while information best held with National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), they would be open to a separate body forming that would be advised by a panel of three former senior judges, to review the materials within a secure government facility.
Opposition parties have long fought for answers as to why Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and Dr. Keding Cheng were escorted out of Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 and terminated 18 months later by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
There are also concerns and questions about whether their terminations are connected to the fact that four months before their removal, Qiu sent a shipment of Ebola and Henipah viruses to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The push for documents has been ongoing for months, including in court, and saw the former head of PHAC admonished formally in House for failing to turn them over when ordered to.
The Liberal proposal would allow this new group of MPs to gain access “with appropriate safeguards,” to unredacted documents pertaining to the questions surrounding the laboratory in Winnipeg.
The committee would be formed under a similar structure as the one used by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2010 to resolve calls by MPs who wanted access to documents related to the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
The Conservative position is that the two situations and the context in which the hundreds of pages of lab documents are being asked for is vastly different than when the thousands of pages were provided to Parliament under the then-Conservative government.
Despite the Conservatives’ rejection, Holland told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday that he’s “disappointed,” but is still optimistic the Liberals could come to a “reasonable and fair” understanding, with the backing of the Bloc Quebecois and New Democrats to form the committee in a way that doesn’t compromise national security.
“I'm beginning to think frankly, that the Conservatives don't want to see these documents. We've made an offer first for them to be seen at the National Security [and Intelligence] Committee of Parliamentarians, that was rejected. Now they're rejecting an offer to use the same system they themselves used,” he said.
“I think they're going to have a hard time explaining to Canadians on the one hand, their demand to see documents and their pretense that we're hiding them and yet, on the other hand, refuse to join a committee that actually lets them look at the documents,” said Holland.
With files from CTV News’ Sarah Turnbull
IN DEPTH
'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.
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
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.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
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.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Freeland to present 2024 federal budget, promising billions in new spending
Canadians will learn Tuesday the entirety of the federal Liberal government's new spending plans, and how they intend to pay for them, when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tables the 2024 federal budget.
Your morning coffee may be hundreds of thousands of years old
Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world's most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as 'arabica.'
A look inside the gutted 24 Sussex Drive
The National Capital Commission is providing a glimpse inside the gutted 24 Sussex Drive, more than a year after the heritage building along the Ottawa River was closed.
NASA confirms mystery object that crashed through roof of Florida home came from space station
NASA confirmed Monday that a mystery object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a chunk of space junk from equipment discarded at the International Space Station.
Torch and sandals: What to know about the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece for the Paris Olympics
Here's a look at the workings and meaning of the elaborate flame-lighting ceremony held among the ruins of Ancient Olympia ahead of each modern Olympiad.
Ontario woman charged almost $7,000 for 20-minute taxi ride abroad
An Ontario woman was shocked to find she’d been charged nearly $7,000 after unknowingly using an unauthorized taxi company while on vacation in January.
Tim Hortons launches pizza nationally to 'stretch the brand' to afternoon, night
Tim Hortons is launching flatbread pizzas nationally in a bid to pick up more afternoon and evening customers.
What's at stake for Canada after Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel
Following the Iranian missile and drone strikes against Israel over the weekend, Canada should take the threat of Iran and potential escalation of the conflict seriously, one global affairs analyst says.
Worker seriously injured after fall at Montreal Olympic Stadium
A man is fighting for his life after falling about 30 feet in an air duct at Montreal's Olympic Stadium on Monday, authorities say.
Local Spotlight
'Why not do it together?': Lifelong friends take part in 'brosectomy' in Vancouver
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
Grain-gobbling bears spark 'no stopping' zone in Banff National Park
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
Deer family appears to accept B.C. man as one of their own
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
Doorbell video shows family of black bears scared off by dog in Sudbury, Ont.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.
Quebec teacher fired after taking leave to be on 'Survivor' reality TV series
A school teacher who took part in the Quebec version of the Survivor reality TV show took time off work to be a contestant is now out of a job.
Young P.E.I. actor fulfills childhood dream to play Anne Shirley
A young actor from Prince Edward Island is getting the chance to fulfill a childhood dream, playing the precocious and iconic Anne Shirley on stage.
From beginner to Olympian: Meet Canada's youngest male to fence on the world stage
Nicholas Zhang, 17, will be competing at the Paris Olympics in July. He is the youngest Canadian male fencer to ever compete in the category.
'It was surreal': Ontario mother gives birth to son on day of solar eclipse
For many, Monday's total solar eclipse will become a distant memory or collection of photos to scroll through in the years to come. But for Alannah Duarte and her family, they'll be reminded of the rare celestial event every year they celebrate their youngest son's birthday, as he was born on the day of the momentous occasion.
Couple lucky to be alive after piece of Montreal highway crashes into their windshield
A Montreal couple is having a hard time driving without stress and is unhappy with the city's maintenance after a chunk of highway crashed into their windshield while driving on Thursday night.