The federal Conservatives are pushing back on the proposed composition of the still-being-negotiated setup of the Parliamentary Review Committee, saying the Liberals are trying to “weaken” the study into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
In a statement, Conservative House Leader John Brassard and Deputy Leader Luc Berthold said Thursday that they’ve rejected the proposal as it stands, accusing the Liberals, with the backing of the NDP of “trying to weaken” the accountability and oversight mechanisms required under the Act.
According to a copy of a draft motion being considered by the parties that was obtained by CTV News, the government proposal with which the Conservatives take issue suggests there would be seven MPs on the committee: Three Liberals, two Conservatives, one Bloc Quebecois MP, and one NDP MP. As well, there would be four senators, with their affiliation not specified.
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How the law is worded, the never-before-created-committee must include “at least one member of the House of Commons from each party that has a recognized membership of twelve or more persons,” which in this Parliament means at least one Liberal, Conservative, Bloc, and NDP MP.
And, the Act xjmtzywsays there must be at least one senator from each party that also has representation in the House, which is complicated now given the Conservatives are the only party with a Senate caucus, and there are a handful of other non-affiliated and independent senate groups.
The aforementioned construction does satisfy these requirements, but the Conservatives say the Act “envisions a lean, opposition-heavy committee that will review the use of the extraordinary powers employed by the prime minister under his emergency declaration,” and in their view, given the NDP’s support for enacting the Act, the two parties working together would “give the Liberals a working majority.”
Asked to comment on the ongoing negotiations towards striking this committee, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday that the committee needs to be able to engage in “full scrutiny and full transparency.”
“The committee should be led by opposition, and the majority of seats should be opposition, the way our Parliament right now is comprised. That way there can be true accountability,” Singh said.
Under the Act, a joint House and Senate Parliamentary Review Committee has to be established once a declaration of emergency is made. While the emergency orders have been rescinded, this committee still needs to be created.
On Wednesday in announcing the revocation of the extraordinary powers under the Act, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government was hoping to have the committee up and running next week, when MPs return from their constituency break. A motion to create the committee will have to be passed.
The Official Opposition is also taking issue with the proposed allocation of a number of co-chair positions and the “disproportionate” role of the Senate, which ultimately did not end up voting to confirm the powers given the timing of Trudeau’s revocation.
“Conservatives have rejected this proposal and provided a viable alternative that better reflects the requirements under the law,” reads Brassard and Berthold’s statement. “If the Liberals are confident that their actions in invoking the Emergencies Act will stand up to parliamentary oversight and scrutiny, then they should abandon their motion and submit themselves to a rigorous accountability process that Canadians can trust.”
It’ll be the committee’s responsibility to review the government’s actions under the Act starting on the day it was invoked, and ensure the government used its powers responsibly through the 10 days it remained in effect.
Every member of the committee and all staff tasked to work with it will have to take an oath of secrecy, and now that the orders have been revoked, will likely have to issue its first report back to both the House and Senate within days of beginning their work.
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Conservative MPs give Interim leader Candice Bergen a standing ovation following a question to the government during Question Period, Monday, February 14, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
