PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Parliamentary Committees have an Unqualified Right to Demand Documents from Government Departments
Ottawa, December 03, 2009 -
Parliamentary committees have an absolute and unfettered right to receive documents and records from witnesses, according to a new report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented in the House of Commons today by Chair Shawn Murphy, MP.
At a March 2009 meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, officials from Public Works and Government Services Canada appeared as witnesses in connection with an audit by the Auditor General of Canada. During the meeting, Public Works officials undertook to provide the Committee with a series of audio recordings. Later, Public Works forwarded the recordings, but in a redacted form, as their legal counsel advised them that there were Privacy Act concerns.
The Public Accounts Committee passed a motion demanding the unredacted recordings, which it eventually received.
In its report, the Public Accounts Committee cited legal precedents that confirmed the constitutional right of a parliamentary committee to call for persons, papers and records, but recognized that this power should not be exercised without considering the public interest. The report stated that a parliamentary committee’s demand for documents prevails over the provisions of a statute, including the Privacy Act.
The Public Accounts Committee is concerned that the denial of documents to parliamentary committees is a recurring problem, and that legal advisors for government departments are confused over the application of the law with respect to a committee order for production of documents or records. The Committee’s report recommended that the government revise its privacy policies and the training it provides to its legal counsel to reflect the right of committees to demand the production of documents and records.
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