The Conservative government's reluctance to seriously investigate the security breach of former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier makes a parliamentary probe necessary, says an opposition MP.
"The prime minister would not hand it over to the RCMP. He would not call an independent public inquiry," Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberals' public safety critic, told Canada AM on Tuesday.
"Therefore, the next best thing was for us to bring forward a motion and pass that motion in the committee."
Opposition MPs on the Commons public safety committee voted Monday to hold hearings into the Bernier affair. Conservative MPs opposed the move.
The minister resigned May 26, hours before ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard revealed he had left classified briefing materials in her apartment in mid-April. She didn't return them to the government until May 25.
The hearings are set for June 10 and June 16-18. Parliament is likely to recess for the summer next week, but the hearings are supposed to proceed.
Robert Fife, CTV's Ottawa bureau chief, told Canada AM on Tuesday that senior government officials say Harper definitely won't co-operate with the committee hearings.
"And neither will Maxime Bernier," he said.
The officials say the hearings "will turn into a highly partisan, mudslinging affair, and (the government) wants no part of it," Fife said.
The government has said the Foreign Affairs department will conduct a review of the case, the results of which will be made public.
"This is no longer about Ms. Couillard and Mr. Bernier. They are just part of the facts in this case. The case is in fact against Mr. Harper," Dosanjh said.
The committee might consider issuing a subpoena against Harper, he said.
Dosanjh said the department itself had some questions to answer with respects to the scandal.
"We need an independent look. You can't be the prosecutor, the judge, jury and executioner," he said.
Some questions that need answering include:
- What other breaches took place?
- Who was involved?
- What was the timeline?
- How did the documents go missing?
When did the prime minister learn about this?
"I think all of that needs to be looked at independently," Dosanjh said.
Fife said if the inquiry goes ahead without Bernier, some key questions won't be answered.
"It's going to be a little delicate for the committee to hold these hearings if they're just going to rely on the word of Julie Couillard," he said.
In a new development, the Montreal newspaper La Presse reported Tuesday that Couillard once had an affair with a member of Montreal's Cotroni crime family, Fife said.
Couillard had relationships with three men who were either members of outlaw biker gangs or had close ties to that world. One was found murdered and another committed suicide.
