The federal government says Parliament should not police whether politicians are telling the truth, arguing it is up to voters — not MPs or bureaucrats — to decide what claims they believe.Blacklock's Reporter says Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon made the remarks in a formal response to a parliamentary petition calling for Ottawa to monitor “truth in public communication” by elected officials and federal employees.“Parliamentary privilege includes freedom of speech which allows parliamentarians to freely voice concerns and opinions without fear of criminal or civil prosecution,” MacKinnon wrote in a House tabling Tuesday.“This privilege is fundamental.”The petition, sponsored by Liberal MP Yvan Baker, argued disinformation by public officials undermines trust in democracy and damages informed public debate.“Disinformation and manipulation by public officials and political figures at all orders of government erode trust and degrade informed debate,” the petition stated.But MacKinnon rejected the idea that government should act as an arbiter of truth.“In Canada the public is able to freely and openly debate, scrutinize and challenge all public communications including those undertaken by elected representatives,” he wrote.“Canada’s democracy depends on the public freely assessing and consuming information from diverse sources from which they can independently form opinions.”“In a democracy it is not appropriate for the government to determine the truthfulness of claims including those made by elected representatives,” MacKinnon added. “In Canada’s participatory democracy, this role is reserved for citizens who hold their elected representatives accountable.”.A total of 2,557 people signed Petition E-6878, which claimed Canadian security agencies view disinformation as a major threat to democracy, national unity and public safety.The petition argued existing ethics and legal rules provide “inconsistent or unclear accountability” and complained there was “no coherent, Canada-wide mechanism” to identify and publicly address false statements by politicians.A separate petition tabled last November by Liberal MP Karim Bardeesy drew nearly 45,000 signatures and proposed stronger penalties for politicians found to have lied publicly.That petition suggested MPs face court-ordered “correction notices,” mandatory public fact-checks and possible suspension from office.Current parliamentary rules already allow MPs and public officials to be cited for contempt of Parliament if they deliberately mislead committees or the House of Commons.According to the Commons Procedure And Practice guide, Parliament enjoys “very wide latitude” in protecting its dignity and authority.Past cases have included former privacy commissioner George Radwanski, who was found in contempt of Parliament in 2003 for misleading MPs over expense claims.In 2008, former RCMP deputy commissioner Barbara George was similarly found in contempt for misleading the Commons public accounts committee during testimony about management of the Mounties’ pension plan.
