Thank you, Chair.
If the committee would like, we can begin with a short chronology of the events in the House that gave rise to the order of reference to the committee, go on to a brief explanation of the specific privilege in question, do a brief summary of two similar cases that came before the committee some years ago, and then perhaps give members a sense of options going forward.
When a public bill is going to be introduced in the House, it has to be put on notice. On April 12 notice was given for the introduction of Bill C-14, the assisted-dying legislation. That same day The Globe and Mail published an article containing specific elements about the bill, and referenced a source familiar with the legislation, a person who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
The next night, April 13, The National on CBC TV had similar details about the bill, and the source again was not identified. On April 14 the bill was introduced in the House, given first reading, and became a public document at that point.
On that same day, April 14, the official opposition House leader rose on a question of privilege regarding the premature disclosure of the contents of Bill C-14. In his intervention, he stated that the details about the bill that had been disclosed in The Globe and Mail article went beyond journalistic speculation, and that they matched the contents of the bill.
Following his intervention, the chief government whip rose and stated that the government takes any breach of privilege very seriously, and that no person had been authorized to discuss the contents of the bill prior to its introduction. He gave an unreserved apology, and committed to ensuring that no further such incidents would occur in the future.
The Speaker ruled on the question of privilege on April 19, and decided that the question raised by the opposition House leader constituted a prima facie, or at first sight, breach of privilege.
As per the standard practice, the member who had raised the question of privilege was then invited to move a motion to send the matter to this committee for further study and consideration.
The House adopted the motion on April 19, and this then became the order of reference before the committee today.