The Liberals and New Democrats on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts blocked a vote on a Bloc Québécois motion to “invite” Governor General Mary Simon to appear as part of a study of the imposing expenses incurred during his recent trip to the Middle East.
Bloc Québécois MP Alain Therrien tried in vain to introduce such a motion at Monday’s meeting and another for the Auditor General to seriously consider examining the expenses incurred during the trip, but the Liberals quickly challenged the admissibility of the first proposal.
According to the Bloc, the expenses incurred during the trip represent $319 per meal. And here we are talking about lunches and dinners […] assuming it’s an open bar for everyonesaid Mr. Therrien.
He called the fee, revised to around $80,000, aexorbitant for ordinary mortals. According to him, the Governor General took funny folds.
I don’t see how that falls within the mandate of the committeefirst launched the Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos.
The chairman of the committee, the conservative John Williamson, then explained to him why he considers that the motion is in order.
Although House of Commons Standing Orders detail that the Public Accounts Committee should consider the Auditor General’s Report and the Public Accounts, they also allow it to consider other areas if its members wish, a- he argued.
Mr. Williamson cited several sections of the regulations in support, including one that states that committees may study such other matters relating to the mandate, administration, organization or operation of the department as the committee sees fit to consider.
Mr. Fragiskatos returned to the charge by citing the mandate of the committee which relates entirely to the public accounts and the reports of the Governor General. According to him, the motion should be presented to the Standing Committee on National Defence, and not to the Public Accounts Committee.
The committee’s mandate, the “absolute key”
He also argued that the mandate of the committee is the absolute key and that any other subject must be part of the mandate.
This motion relates directly to the expenses related to this trip and the [comité des] public accounts is responsible for reviewing spending after the factreplied the president.
Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan tried to support her colleague, saying the committee is non-partisan and has a mandate to determine whether Canadians have value for their money. That a study relating to the expenses of the Governor General would represent a previous […] disturbing for the committee, she said.
The Conservatives have said they support the committee chair’s decision. Is this a common practice [que d’inviter la gouverneure générale en comité]? No, but that does not prevent it from being within our means and capacities to do sosaid curator Eric Duncan.
Silent during almost all of the discussions, NDP MP Blake Desjarlais came to say that the issues addressed in the motion fall under the National Defense Committee.
The chair then replied that the fact that another committee can study them does not prevent the public accounts committee from doing so as well.
After lengthy discussions, the Liberal MP called for a vote to contest the decision of the chair. He did the same a few minutes later on the second motion that had just been presented. Each time, the ruling of the chair was reversed.
The Bloc Québécois has made it known that it intends to come back to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
The Canadian PressMartin Leclerc
Source: Radio-Canada
