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OTTAWA — An all-party committee of federal politicians interested in learning about climate change science is continuing to meet behind the scenes on Parliament Hill, with discreet participation from a few backbench Conservative MPs.

The committee has met on a monthly basis for about two years. But its meetings are secret and its members are reluctant to say who attended and what they discussed.

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“You just don’t want people to be feeling that it’s an area of political risk to participate in the climate caucus,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in an interview. “We want the opposite.”

John Stone, a Canadian scientist who delivered a presentation to the MPs at their last meeting in mid-April, questioned why the session wasn’t open to the public.

May said the closed-door policy allows MPs to speak freely about the problem.

“We want it to be a trusting, safe space, in which any member of Parliament from any party can come and ask any question or make any comment and it’s all off the record and all in shared confidence,” May said.