Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics

The committee resumed debate on a motion, as amended, to study the connection between the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and Alto, and the minister’s claim that he recused himself from government decisions related to Alto. The motion originally proposed inviting the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, executives from Alto including CEO Martin Imbleau, and the minister to appear. An amendment by Mr. Saini sought to delete the line calling for Alto executives and the CEO. A subamendment by Mr. Hardy proposed instead to delete only the reference to “executives from Alto,” keeping the CEO as a witness.

During debate, Liberal members argued that the Ethics Commissioner had already determined there was no conflict of interest and that calling Alto’s CEO was unnecessary and would waste time on a matter already resolved. They proposed an alternative motion to invite only the commissioner and the minister for one hour each the week of May 25. Conservative and Bloc Québécois members countered that the CEO could provide relevant information about discussions with the minister and the ethics screen, and that the committee had a duty to examine the appearance of a conflict, especially given Bill C-15 and the minister’s involvement in Alto-related decisions and votes.

After extended debate, Mr. Hardy sought unanimous consent to withdraw his subamendment to allow the committee to move forward. Ms. Church then moved an amendment to the main motion to strike the May 8 deadline and reduce the commissioner’s and minister’s appearances to one hour each, scheduled for the week of May 25. The committee did not reach a final decision on the motion or the amendment before the meeting ended.