MPs' report finds government in contempt

The Conservative government should be found in contempt of Parliament, a committee of MPs decided Monday.

The procedure and house affairs committee began meeting early Monday morning to debate and finalize a draft report that had been prepared over the weekend following two days of hearings last week. The committee was tasked with deciding whether the government breached the privilege of MPs by not supplying sufficient data on the estimated costs of corporate tax cuts, proposed crime legislation and the F-35 fighter jet procurement...

The committee met for three days last week to hear witnesses on two breach of privilege issues, one involving the cost estimates, and the other on whether International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda should also be found in contempt of Parliament...

Initially, the government said it could not release details of the estimates because they were protected by cabinet confidence, a principle that allows information to be kept secret and exempts it from access-to-information laws.

The opposition argued that once a government announces its intentions publicly, on bills or other matters, the information is no longer protected by cabinet confidence...

Opposition MPs say they cannot be expected to vote on legislation without knowing how much it is going to cost taxpayers.