Democracy Watch wants Trudeau cabinet grilled over documents withheld from foreign intererence inquiry

Democracy Watch wants MPs to demand answers from the Trudeau cabinet on why the Hogue Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Canadian Politics can't get full access to cabinet documents.The watchdog organization called on MPs on the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) Committee to vote at its meeting Tuesday to call Trudeau Cabinet ministers and officials to testify and be questioned on why the Cabinet is redacting about 3,000 documents and withholding an unknown number of other ones.A DWatch submission filed on February 8th with the inquiry requested that the inquiry demand written, public answers from the Trudeau Cabinet about why it is redacting and withholding cabinet documents and also withheld them from Special Rapporteur David Johnston, and to request the documents be fully disclosed.DWatch is an intervenor in the Inquiry as represented by Wade Poziomka and Nick Papageorge of Ross & McBride LLP.In a May 23 Globe and Mail article, a spokesperson from the Privy Council Office disclosed that “As of May 17, 2024, approximately 9% of the 33,000 documents provided by the government contain one or more redactions. Other documents covered entirely by these exemptions have not been provided to the commission.”In response, the four Conservative and the Bloc Quebecois MPs on the PROC Committee forced today's meeting by writing a letter last Friday to the Committee Chair. The NDP MP or a Liberal MP on the Committee would have to vote with the Conservative and Bloc MPs to call Cabinet ministers and officials to testify for hearings to happen.In a press release, DWatch complained the Hogue commission "downplayed and almost buried the fact that the Cabinet is withholding documents."The Commissioner’s Initial Report released on May 3rd says at the top of p. 5, “I have had access to the relevant documents without any redactions for reasons of national security” and in the third last paragraph on p. 17 it says “the Commission was given access to the unredacted versions of all relevant documents” (claims that were repeated in the third paragraph of the news release about the Report) and in the first paragraph on p. 77 says “The Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure take into account that the Commission will receive unredacted documents from the government…”Yet, footnote 1 on p. 5 says “Some documents contained redactions for Cabinet confidence, solicitor-client privilege or protection of personal information. Discussions as to the application of these privileges is ongoing” and footnote 2 on p. 17 says, “Save for a small number of documents that have been redacted to protect Cabinet confidences, solicitor-client privilege and personal information.”Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch says the secrecy makes it a reasonable assumption whatever has been hidden would embarrass the government.“Canada’s spy agencies have disclosed to the inquiry all their foreign-interference related documents without redactions, and the Trudeau Cabinet disclosed Cabinet confidence documents to last year’s inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act, so the Cabinet clearly can disclose all its records to the inquiry,” said Conacher.“It has been disappointing to see the inquiry downplaying and almost burying this excessive secrecy by the Trudeau Cabinet. The inquiry should be publicly demanding disclosure of all the Cabinet documents because the secrecy makes it impossible for the inquiry commissioner to determine who knew what, when they knew it, and what they did,” said Conacher.