Liberals accused of ‘filibustering’ vote on motion to have Boissonnault witnesses testify
Global News
The ethics committee was suspended for the second time this week as MPs faced off over a motion for cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault’s business associates to testify.
Liberal MPs are rejecting Opposition efforts to call Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault’s business associates to testify before the parliamentary ethics committee, saying Conservative members are abusing committee powers.
“This is not a responsible way of going about this. If we were to let the ethics commissioner look into this matter, that might be the more responsible approach,” Liberal MP Iqra Khalid said in committee on Tuesday.
She argued against witnesses appearing before the committee and a previous amendment to the motion that would’ve forced Stephen Anderson, who co-owns a Global Health Imports (GHI) with Boissonnault, to hand over a list of current and former employees of the medical supply company.
“Asking an employer to reveal the identities of every single employee his company has ever had…It is the definition of overboard,” Khalid said.
NDP and Conservative members of the committee accused Liberal members of filibustering the vote on the motion put forward on June 4 by Tory MP Michael Barrett. The ethics committee was suspended for the second time this week before a vote could be held.
“The Liberals are doing backflips, trying to make excuses and muddy the waters to say, ‘Okay, well, phone records, but not witnesses,” Tory MP Damien Kurek said in committee on Tuesday. “It all comes down to a very, very, very simple question: Who is this individual referred to as ‘Randy’ in these text messages?”
Last week, Global News reported that someone named “Randy” had allegedly sent messages to Anderson instructing him on how to handle a business transaction in September 2022. Boissonnault was tourism minister and associate finance minister at the time.
In the text exchange obtained by Global News, Anderson urged Ghaoui to wire a $500,000 deposit for a large shipment of nitrile gloves Ghaoui was to purchase from GHI. Anderson apparently forwarded her a message directly from a frustrated “Randy” asking him why the money hadn’t been sent yet.
Technology Minister Nate Glubish says such images, known as deepfakes, can cause people serious harm and that changing the law should create a new layer of protection.
Renters in Quebec may soon have final say over whether they're allowed to keep pets in their homes following a legal ruling that no-pet clauses in leases violate Charter rights.
Alberta RCMP say they have located a Grey 2022 Ford F-150 involved in the fatal highway shooting of an Edmonton man earlier this month. The suspect remains at large.
Education Minister Paul Calandra, however, said he won't use the notwithstanding clause if he moves to eliminate trustees in Ontario.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would order federal immigration agents to airports to assist TSA. Canadians landing the U.S. should be prepared.
Three overpasses in Saskatoon have been hit in the past three weeks, with charges announced against the driver in the first incident.
Auditor General Karen Hogan says there are critical weaknesses in the integrity controls for the International Student Program.
Return trips by Canadian residents from the U.S. fell 22 per cent in January compared with a year earlier, according to the latest data.
Three byelections are being held on April 13 and the results could have an impact on both the makeup of Parliament and how long it lasts.
Ontario's provincial members of parliament are heading back to Queen's Park Monday, as the legislature sits for the first time since December.
Members of Parliament are back in the House of Commons today, where the government is expected to face tough questions about new auditor general reports and the war in Iran.
Two Air Canada pilots are dead after their flight originating from Montreal collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Sunday night.
With more rain in the forecast, crews continue to deal with a mudslide earlier this week that covered a road in Coquitlam in debris, posing risk to Metro Vancouver's water supply.