Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Er, so what's been the hold up?

by Aaron Wherry on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 1:38pm - 36 Comments

After months of acrimony and government objection, the Public Safety Minister emerges from the Conservative caucus today with this.

After the Tory caucus meeting, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told reporters there are similar processes in place in the United States that could work here.

“Opposition parties and members are entitled to see documents but of course they have to maintain secrecy in respect to those documents,” he said. “Anyone who is given those types of documents would in fact have to maintain secrecy in accordance with the law.”

Mr. Toews added: “I’m actually quite looking forward to some kind of a compromise that follows from the Speaker’s ruling. I think the Speaker put the issues out there and I think that everyone now knows what the issues are and how we deal with that.”

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http://www.TennisVagabond.com Big Dave S

This may be the wisest thing you've said on these board. Plus you had a great zinger the other day, though I can't recall it.
http://intensedebate.com/people/TJCook TJCook

I absolutely agree.

Although it may be too late for ATI laws:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/acce…
burlivespipe

Harper has no doubt been focus grouping and polling us at our expense on this since it all began… Wait until Sheila F gets her hands on his PMO budgetary indiscretions…
http://intensedebate.com/people/YYZ YYZ

Yes – and in his ruling the speaker cited a proposal made by Bob Rae to that effect.
Wascally Wabbit

And for the other hold up…
Oh crumbs! We just discovered that all the relevant documents are in the trunk of a tank parked somewhere on Bagrab Airfield – and we don't know how many months it will take us to retreive them because we mined the area and then – whoopsy – lost the plans for the layout of the minefield…
And the papers we have already given you – fully blacked out – we quite honestly don't know what was in them – because they were so classified we closed our eyes when we ran the back felt tip over them…
And did you have a question about a missing 17 minutes of tape too?
How long before Harper is exiting with four fingers in the air – claiming – I am not a crook?
common man

The latest Liberal whine:

but…but…but, what`s the use in us getting the Speaker onside if we have to agree to keep quiet about any hint of impropriety by any Canadians in Afghanistan. We want cameras and interviews and publicity because our real motives is to try to make the tories look bad. That`s all we ever wanted,
http://intensedebate.com/people/LaxAtlDfwYow LaxAtlDfwYow

And that – the sham of "what can he do under the law" – is the hook he can use to refer the matter to the SCoC.

Stephen is nothing if not consistent.
Lord Kitchener's Own

That's why I think it would be so fast. It'd take the judges, what, five minutes to write an opinion stating "this is none of our damned business – Parliament is supreme, so abide by the will of Parliament or deal with the consequences".
common man

Let`s hope the contemptous cynicism on display by the Liberals here is not copied by those Liberals in Ottawa toward a good man like Mr. Toews when he attempts to find a compromise.
Lord Kitchener's Own

I just think that the judges on our Supreme Court are too smart to go along with what would essentially be (another) delaying tactic. The government may not realize how fundamental all of this is to the foundations of how we govern ourselves, but I bet the Supremes do, and it would take them stunningly little time to rule on a reference..
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

You've got to be kidding.