Article content continued

Barrett blasted Gaudreau for her decision in the House of Commons on Tuesday, saying it was part of a “deal” with the Liberals.

“The prime minister promised openness and transparency, but yesterday at the ethics committee, that proved to be more empty promises,” he said. “The Liberals voted to shut down a study of the Trudeau II Report, but they could not do it alone.”

In an explosive report last summer, Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion found Trudeau had used his power to “circumvent, undermine and ultimately attempt to discredit” his own public prosecutor when he sought a deferral of the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, which had been charged with bribing Libyan officials between 2001 and 2011. Dion also found the Liberal government had withheld critical cabinet information during his investigation, so that “witnesses were constrained in the ability to provide all evidence” on the matter.

“I was, therefore, prevented from looking over the entire body of evidence to determine its relevance to my examination,” Dion said in his 2019 report.

The prime minister promised openness and transparency, but yesterday ... that proved to be more empty promises

Barrett’s motion called for Dion to appear before the committee, in part to examine what he views as potential interference in the investigation. A final study on that report was to be tabled before May 29, 2020.

“It is usual that the officers of Parliament who report to committees do testify on their reports,” Barrett said in an interview with the National Post. “The Trudeau II report, which did find the prime minister guilty of breaking the rules, was issued outside the sitting of Parliament, and so there hasn’t been an opportunity for the commissioner to testify before committee.”