Calling it an "affront," Conservative MP Lisa Raitt has asked the Speaker of the House of Commons to rule on her complaint that the Liberal government dodged her written question in Parliament — and instead gave the information she was seeking to the news media.

Raitt rose on a point of privilege today, referring to a written question she posed on Nov. 8, 2017, about a controversial tweet issued on Environment Minister Catherine McKenna's official Twitter account.

The tweet — 'Canada Salutes Nicaragua and Syria for joining on to the Paris Agreement,' referring to the Paris climate accord — drew fire from critics who pointed out that the Syrian regime recently had been accused of using chemical weapons on its own people.

The official twitter account of Environment Minister Catherine McKenna included a ill-advised tweet praising Syria last September. Conservative MP Lisa Raitt has filed an official complaint, claiming that she was denied information about the incident. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Face with a barrage of outrage on social media, the department deleted the tweet the same day — Nov. 7. McKenna acknowledged the "mistake" but offered no explanation.

A day later, Raitt submitted a written question in the House of Commons asking for "the titles of all individuals who approved the tweet."

Deputy Conservative Leader Lisa Raitt asking Speaker Geoff Regan to look into an answer she received from Environment Minister Catherine McKenna about who approved a tweet congratulating Syria on joining the Paris climate change agreement. 7:02

A terse response from McKenna, delivered Jan. 29, did not answer the question, saying instead that the tweet "was a mistake for which the Minister of Environment and Climate Change took full responsibility."

Months later, the department delivered documents requested under the Access to Information Act to media organizations, including the CBC, that provided the names and some titles of more than two dozen public servants involved in writing, vetting and posting the controversial tweet. The documents show that no red flags about the tweet were raised beforehand.

Green light

The material also shows that officials inside McKenna's own office had given the green light to the Syria tweet less than an hour before it appeared on Twitter.

Raitt read from the CBC News story in her complaint to the Speaker, arguing that the minister's official response to her question was a "deliberate attempt to deny me information."

"Clearly, I was impeded in the performance of my function as a member in this place which, Mr. Speaker, breaches my privileges and constitutes a contempt of this House, as outlined in our procedural authorities," she said, after citing parliamentary precedents to support her complaint.

"I was given debate and an argument for an answer, whereas the journalist was actually given the answer."

Speaker Geoff Regan told Raitt he "will examine and come back to the House in due course."

Under parliamentary procedure, the Speaker must determine whether the matter is a prima facie case of privilege. If the Speaker decides it is, the Commons then considers a motion from the aggrieved member, which is usually referred to a House committee for study.