Author of the article: Ken Rubin
Publishing date: Jul 28, 2021 • 21 hours ago • 3 minute read • President of the Public Health Agency of Canada Iain Stewart, right, approaches the bar in the House of Commons to be admonished by the Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota on Parliament Hill on June 21, 2021. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press
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Will one central issue in the as-yet-undeclared election campaign be the Trudeau government’s repeated defiance of the House of Commons’ orders for information, or is the latest struggle with the Public Health Agency of Canada just political theatre?
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Access requester told to wait 5 years for PHAC head s email, texts
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Rubin: Trudeau s defiance of parliament should top the election agenda, but it won t
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Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota is seen in the House of Commons Wednesday April 14, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
OTTAWA – A federal attempt to shield documents related to the firing of two scientists is a violation of parliamentary privilege and must be tossed out of court, House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota says.
In a notice of motion filed Thursday in Federal Court, Rota says the House, by virtue of its parliamentary privileges, has the power to send for the “persons, papers and records” it deems necessary to its functions.
“This constitutionally entrenched power is fundamental to our system of parliamentary democracy, and to Parliament’s critical role in acting as the ‘grand inquest of the nation’ and in holding the executive branch of government to account,” Rota’s notice says.