A parliamentary public safety committee will hold hearings into the security breach that took down former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier.
Committee members voted Monday to hold four days of testimony, beginning on June 10, to determine the extent of the breach that occurred when Bernier left classified documents at his former girlfriend Julie Couillard's house.
Opposition MPs are pressing for appearances from Bernier, Couillard, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and officials from the Privy Council office. However, a source within the government told The Canadian Press on Monday that Harper doesn't plan to co-operate.
When emailed on Monday, Harper's communications director dodged the question of whether he would participate.
"The opposition should stop trying to score political points after the minister resigned," wrote Sandra Buckler in an email to The Canadian Press, reiterating the party line that the Department of Foreign Affairs is already investigating the matter.
Harper has shot down Liberal Party requests to establish an independent inquiry or RCMP investigation into the scandal, which erupted last week after Couillard revealed that Bernier left secret NATO documents at her residence for five weeks.
That Couillard had dated two known members of Quebec biker gangs further ignited the scandal.
Bernier resigned on May 26, the day Couillard's revelations were made public.
The resignation was handed in just hours before Harper left for Europe to meet with government leaders in a number of countries. Due to his absence, the prime minister missed direct questioning on the furor until Monday during the first House of Commons question period since his return.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion once again demanded an independent inquiry into possible security breaches, saying the scandal has "made news on every continent and made (the) government a laughing stock."
Harper replied by saying that Foreign Affairs is conducting a review and Bernier has already paid the price of his mistakes.
"Obviously the rules with regard to classified documents are extremely important," he said Monday. "That's why the minister offered to resign. That's why I've accepted his resignation."
Opposition MPs have accused Harper of showing bad judgment in appointing Bernier.
"It was the prime minister who chose the minister," said Liberal Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff. "It was the prime minister who watched him make mistake after mistake."
The NDP began asking about climate change just 12 minutes into question period, bringing a surprisingly quick ending to what was expected to be a Bernier blitz.
However, the questioning will be far from over if opposition MPs get their choice of witnesses in the upcoming hearings, which are slotted for June 10 and June 16-18.
With a report from CTV's Roger Smith
