OTTAWA — Conservative MP Dan Mazier is accusing Liberal members of shutting down a parliamentary committee meeting to avoid scrutiny of a $300 million federal program.Speaking to the Western Standard on Thursday, Mazier said members of the House of Commons health committee moved to hold proceedings behind closed doors just minutes into a meeting where opposition MPs planned to call for an investigation into the PrescribeIT program.“They absolutely abused it when we walked in there,” Mazier said, referring to the Liberal majority on the committee. Mazier said the move to turn off cameras and proceed in camera came without explanation, despite advance notice of the motion.“We still don’t know why they went to turn the cameras off. That is still unknown. They have not answered that,” he said. According to Mazier, opposition members had intended to request that the Auditor General investigate the PrescribeIT program, which has faced questions over its cost and management.“They knew exactly we were just going to be voting and asking the auditor general to look at PrescribeIT at $300 million,” he said. .Mazier said the lack of transparency raises broader concerns about the government’s approach to parliamentary oversight.“If that’s the way they’re going to run a government, they’re all about keeping it in the dark. They’re not about showing sunlight,” he said. The PrescribeIT program, a federally backed electronic prescribing system, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, including questions around executive compensation and how funds were allocated.Mazier said committee hearings are a key mechanism for holding government spending to account, allowing MPs to question officials and bring forward evidence in public.“They have a right to know,” he said, referring to taxpayers. Despite the setback at committee, Mazier said opposition MPs will continue pursuing answers through other parliamentary tools.“We do still have tools as MPs… to make sure that this story gets told,” he said.
