Be careful what you ask for—Parliament’s new responsibility for security

If Parliament needs to obtain information that involves national security concerns, it must also take the responsibility that comes with that knowledge and information.

Iain Stewart, president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, pictured on June 21, 2021, before the House of Commons where he was publicly chastised by House Speaker Anthony Rota for failing to release documents related to the firing of two scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. Screen capture image: courtesy of ParlVu

Opinion

BY STEVEN CHAPLIN

June 23, 2021

This past week has seen some developments in the House of Commons’ role in holding the government to account. Wittingly or not the House has stretched, if not broken, the convention of ministerial responsibility. It has also absolved the government of responsibility for national security and taken...

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