The Trudeau Liberal/Singh NDP coalition government attempted to roadblock the investigation into the Winnipeg lab scandal, where two Chinese scientists were accused of espionage. The Conservatives have slammed the move to block their motion to study Health Canada's Winnipeg-based National Microbiology Laboratory documents related to security breaches by foreign intelligence, accusing the coalition of attempting to pull the wool over Canadians’ eyes in a calculated “cover-up.”For several years Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government has been blocking access to the papertrail, previously attempting to block the disclosure of the documents altogether, and even going so far as to completely redact full pages of documents previously tabled in committee hearings. In March the Liberal/NDP coalition blocked the initial motion to open an investigation into the lab compromised by the China Communist Party (CCP). Liberals and NDPs cut short the first Winnipeg lab Commons Ethics Committee meeting Thursday, the first of several meetings called to study the documents pertaining to Chinese espionage, on claims of procedural concerns, the Epoch Times reported. Before the first witness had a chance to speak, NDP MP Matthew Green interrupted proceedings by raising a point of order. Green accused Conservative MP and committee chair John Brassard of calling the meeting without following protocol. Brassard should have consulted with members first, Green stated, further complaining the chair invited witnesses the coalition hadn’t approved beforehand. “I find that to be an authoritarian use of your position and highly problematic,” said Green, who was backed up by the Trudeau Liberals. “I find the way that this committee has been called completely bizarre,” said Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner.Brassard responded he had invited Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard, who was not a witness on the initially agreed upon list, because her input would be valuable to the investigation. The chair told the committee Maynard would be out of the country until June 10, and committee had an extra one-hour time slot. “You can challenge me all you want,” said Brassard. “The authority that I have as a chair to call a meeting, which I’ve done and I’ve given my reasons for, cannot be challenged, there is nothing to challenge.”Maynard went on to testify her office had received 14 complaints related to the documents and the fact the federal government did not respect the Access to Information Act when they avoided disclosing or fully redacted documents. “My experience is that there’s a lot more that can be done with respect to transparency,” said Maynard.“There hasn’t been a lot of improvement,” she said, explaining federal officials show little interest in improving their disclosure of information. Liberal MP Darren Fisher then used his turn to question the witness to instead request the committee meeting be adjourned. “This isn’t how a well-functioning committee should work,” said Fisher. He then asked the chair to slot in a meeting sometime next week to establish a schedule for the rest of the investigation. Liberal and NDP MPs supported the motion for adjournment. Bloc Québécois MP René Villemure voted against it. “You can see ... the Liberals not showing up for work today, but shutting down a meeting with the NDP, their partner in the cover-up coalition,” Barrett said after the meeting in a video posted to social media. The Trudeau Liberals first blocked the initial release of the documents and now is “blocking the hearings, silencing the officials who are here to talk about it,” said Barrett.
