Mr. Chair, on December 5, 2024, this committee received a Standing Order 106(4) request for an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of inviting the Minister of Finance to appear at committee. The chair decided to accommodate the request using an existing in camera meeting of the committee, as opposed to requesting resources for an additional meeting. The clerk of the committee published a notice of meeting on December 6, 2024, outlining the agenda for the meeting, including that it was in camera.
The honourable member for Calgary Forest Lawn, Mr. Hallan, then posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on December 9, 2024, an altered notice of meeting for the December 10, 2024, meeting, incorrectly showing the text “secret meeting” within the agenda. I have a printed copy of the post that I will share with the chair for his information.
House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, specifically lists “deliberately publishing a false or misleading report of the proceedings of the House or a committee” as a form of contempt of Parliament. I would argue that a notice of meeting published by the clerk of the committee is a report of the proceedings of Parliament. It is exceptionally inappropriate for anyone, especially an honourable member of this place, to deliberately doctor a publication of Parliament to fit a political agenda and to utilize it in the Conservative Party's continued campaign of disinformation to Canadians.
I believe that this constitutes a matter of privilege and should be reported to the House, as this matter should be further investigated. I await your decision on the matter, Mr. Chair.