Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lamented the House of Commons remains “paralyzed” Tuesday as his party extends a debate about turning government documents over to the RCMP.
Poilievre was referring to the delay in the government producing seven years’ worth of records related to the Sustainable Development Technologies Canada (SDTC) organization within 30 days.
The now-defunct organization, which was federally funded but at arm’s length from government, was found earlier this year to have broken conflict of interest rules and made “significant lapses” in managing public funds by the Auditor General of Canada. The Conservatives have taken to calling it a “green slush fund.”
If you’re already feeling lost, don’t worry. It’s a natural reaction to the political posturing that typically comes during the dying days of a minority parliament.
The debate over the release of the documents has ground business in the House of Commons to a halt for a week.
When asked why his party wouldn’t refer the issue to a Commons committee for study — miraculously curing Parliament of its paralysis — Poilievre said he wouldn’t let “corruption” slide so “Justin Trudeau can get on with his day.”
A House of Commons committee probe isn’t exactly sweeping an issue “under the rug,” as Poilievre charged, and is the likeliest outcome of the debate. In the meantime, however, the Conservatives can use the issue to lob accusations of corruption at the Liberal government.
Poilievre was absent during Question Period Tuesday, after being reprimanded by Speaker Greg Fergus for accusing Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly pandering to “Hamas supporters” and refusing to withdraw the comment.
But his deputy leader, Melissa Lantsman, pushed the government on the documents’ contents and why they haven’t turned them over.
“How bad are these documents that they would hold this place up for seven days, defying your order and to hide the $400 million that they gave to their friends?,” Lantsman asked.
“They’re trying to spin out of their own obstruction because they don’t want this to go to committee,” Liberal House Leader Karina Gould shot back.
“Because what they will hear is expert after expert talking about the egregious abuse of power that the Conservatives are trying to do in this place to override the rights of Canadians. We’re ready to move forward … it’s only the Conservatives that are afraid of a vote.”
SDTC and the Conservatives’ privilege
Earlier this year, Auditor General Karen Hogan’s office found that SDTC granted funding totalling $51 million to eight start-up projects that didn’t meet whose eligibility requirements. A subsequent investigation by the federal ethics commissioner found that SDTC chair Annette Verschuren did not recuse herself from funding decisions for organizations she had ties to – including her own company, NRStor Inc.
In June, a Conservative motion demanded the government turn over all documents related to SDTC to the House of Commons law clerk within 30 days. The clerk would then turn them over to the RCMP.
That means every federal department and agency, as well as the Auditor General’s office, would have to turn over any document related to the foundation going back to 2017 within a month.
While the House of Commons’ law clerk confirmed that they have been providing the RCMP with documents throughout the summer, not all records were turned over by the deadline.
That paved the way for the Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer to claim that the House’s privileges were violated — a claim Speaker Fergus determined was well founded. And that’s what brought the House of Commons to its current state of dysfunction.
Complicating the matter further is that the RCMP has already confirmed an ongoing investigation into SDTC and that they have already received tranches of documents from the government, as first reported by the National Post.
'Playground tactics' and the Liberal agenda
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking to reporters in Ottawa Tuesday, said the work of government continues despite being “frustrated and appalled by the spectacle the Conservatives are making of Parliament.”
She said the government was in discussions with the opposition New Democrats and Bloc Quebécois about the fall economic statement – an economic update that would be a confidence matter and, should it fail, plunge Canada into a general election.
“We’re doing a lot, and we’re being thoughtful and creative about the things, about looking at areas where we can move ahead and not be blocked by, you know, playground tactics,” Freeland said.
When asked if the Liberal government was considering proroguing Parliament – a potential way to reset Parliamentary business and the government’s agenda – Freeland answered with a flat “no.”