Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says MPs have a duty to demand answers from federal immigration officials and won’t be silenced after a deputy minister complained that tough committee scrutiny puts managers at risk.“It’s the committee’s job to hold you to account for your decisions,” said Rempel Garner, who represents Calgary Nose Hill. “We will not be censored.”She said MPs “will not accept any form of censorship” or make it easier for the government “to get away with breaking Canada’s immigration system.” Blacklock's Reporter said Rempel Garner criticized testimony from department managers as unclear, incomplete and evidence of what she called “a culture of managerial incompetence.”“This is a fundamental part of our democracy,” she said, adding that MPs are obligated to question officials “who taxpayers pay.”.Her comments came after Deputy Minister Harpreet Kochhar filed a formal protest claiming immigration managers felt threatened when testifying at the Commons immigration committee. The committee released Kochhar’s letter, and Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz, the chair, read portions into the record.Kochhar wrote that public servants have endured “harassment, abuse and threats” including hostile emails, social media attacks and even in-person confrontations. He said short, decontextualized video clips posted online by MPs or their staff were fueling public anger.“Without a change in approach, I am concerned that threats and intimidation from the public will persist,” wrote Kochhar..Dzerowicz urged all MPs to be careful about how they use committee material “whether it’s online or offline.”No individuals or specific incidents were named in the letter. Rempel Garner said any officials who truly feel threatened should call police, but those who are simply “irritated” by scrutiny should take responsibility for turning “a once-strong immigration system into an unmitigated dumpster fire.”
