Roundup: Being called to the bar of the Commons

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Following the motion in the House of Commons that the head of the Public Health Agency of Canada has been found in contempt of Parliament for refusing to turn over national security documents to a House of Commons committee, and is being summoned to the bar of the Chamber on Monday, said PHAC president is faced with a possibly impossible choice – if he turns over the documents, he is in breach of the Privacy Act and the Security of Information Act. If he doesn’t turn them over, he is in contempt of Parliament and its powers of production – and he has not been guaranteed immunity if he turns those documents over, not that the MPs who demand these documents care.

What is perhaps more worrying is the apparently cavalier way in which this is being dealt with, as there is very little security around this. The Canada-China committee, which wants these documents, has no security clearances, nor are their communications even secure – the “hybrid” sittings are done over Zoom, and while it’s a slightly more secure version than the commercial one, it’s still not actually secure. As well, I am not particularly moved by the fact that they say that any redactions will be done by the House of Commons’ law clerk, because I’m not sure that he has the necessary security clearance to view the documents unredacted, nor does he have the background and context to read those documents in and apply redactions properly. This is a pretty serious issue that these MPs are handwaving over, and frankly, the way that they have abused the Law Clerk and his office over the course of his parliament by demanding that he perform the redactions on millions of documents that could wind up leaking commercially sensitive information has been nothing short of shameful. It certainly hasn’t been filling me with any confidence that any of the information will be treated with proper seriousness considering that they aren’t promising actual safeguards – or immunity. It very much makes this look more like grandstanding over a proper exercise in accountability.

Meanwhile, here is a history of people who have been summoned to the bar in the Commons, the last time which was in 1913, where the person refused to testify, and spent four months in a local jail until the parliamentary session expired. It’s a power that has very much fallen into disuse, but interesting nevertheless.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau says that there will be enough vaccine delivered by the end of July to have every Canadian fully vaccinated by then.
  • As some American venues are saying they won’t allow people vaccinated with AstraZeneca in, Trudeau says they are working to ensure they get equal treatment.
  • Trudeau also says he has confidence in Harjit Sajjan, and says the Conservatives are “slandering” him (because they badly handled the call for his resignation).
  • While US border measures have been extended another month, François Legault is indicating they could finally reopen by July 21st.
  • Marco Mendicino says the government will increase the number of refugees we accept to 45,000, and speed up processing permanent residency applications.
  • A report from NSIRA says that CSE may have illegally shared Canadians’ private information with foreign intelligence and government agencies.
  • Canada is leading an international effort at the UN to get unfettered access to China’s Xinjiang region by human rights investigators, to probe charges of genocide.
  • Canadian Blood Services will make a submission to Health Canada by the end of the year about replacing current donation guidelines with behaviour-based screening.
  • Senators from various groups are indicating they won’t fast-track Bill C-10 once it reaches the Senate, and that could mean it won’t pass before summer.
  • Philippe Lagassé rebuts some of the critics of Thursday’s NSICOP moves, and suggests that the way to make MPs more responsible is to give them responsibility.
  • Steve Saideman walks through the has the complete hash the Conservatives made of their motion to censure Harjit Sajjan, missing the real problems he has.
  • Jen Gerson puts Trudeau’s “fish wrap” comments into context of the healthy antagonism with journalism, and reflects on the G7 meeting’s “successes.”
  • My weekend column looks at the public safety committee’s report on systemic racism in policing, and finds it timid and wanting for real institutional solutions.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Being called to the bar of the Commons”

  1. They’ve finally jumped the shark into “lock him up” territory. Not just the GQP Cons but their New Despot Party sidekicks and the wacky Quebec separatists. I hope the PHAC refuses. What are they going to do, put him under house arrest or at a quarantine hotel until the parliamentary session expires — on Wednesday???

    The opposition parties are unfit for office.

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