Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 20th, 2007

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Order.

I will go to Mr. Siksay for the appropriate motion.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

On this issue of the release of the confidential draft report of the standing committee regarding security certificates and the conditions of detention in Kingston, I'd like to move that we report to the House the breach of the privileges of members that has resulted from the release of this draft report; that we indicate that media reports last week included direct quotations from the draft report and that other reporters have indicated they have copies of the confidential draft report; and that we ask the House to investigate further and refer it to the procedure and House affairs committee for further investigation and action.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

You have all heard Mr. Siksay's motion. Is there any discussion?

Mr. Telegdi.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Chair, I very strongly support the motion.

Let me just say that we are all partisan members, obviously, and that's okay, but I really like operating in such a way that when we come into committee, as much as possible we leave partisanship at the door and try to do what's best for the country when these kinds of situations arise.

God knows how the leak happened. It might have been advertent; it might have been inadvertent. I don't know. But it really undermines our capacity to work together, recognizing that we have all these tensions going between the parties. It undermines our ability to do that and to function effectively. I'm amazed at the quality of the quotes in there.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

To speak to Mr. Siksay's motion, the clerk informs me that the committee has the power to call an individual, a reporter, before our committee and to ask him directly where he received that report. The individual who spoke to me told me he's had a full copy of the report since Friday.

Would it be appropriate, from the committee's point of view, to bring that individual—or individuals, whoever they may be, who we know have copies of that report—before the committee to answer directly as to where they received that report?

Mr. Siksay.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Chair, I wouldn't support that. I think reporters have a right to protect the sources they have. I don't want to get into questioning reporters about their sources.

I think the issue is that our privileges have been violated by someone either on this committee or associated with this committee who released the draft report, and that the motion goes to asking Parliament to solve that issue that's related to a member's conduct—or staff conduct, if that's where it came from. I don't have an issue with the reporters for dealing with something that landed in their laps, frankly. It shouldn't have happened, but I don't fault them for one second for running with what they had in front of them.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Well, I would imagine the procedure and House affairs committee would question reporters anyway as to where they received the report.

I'm very anxious to get to the bottom of this, because it throws a cloud over every single individual member of the committee—

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Except you, Mr. Chair. You weren't here. You were safely away.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

He had a copy.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

It happened the week before that.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

That's right.

Anyway, in terms of the reporter, you're talking about freedom of the press and what value we as a society place on it, and as disturbing as it is to have somebody leak a report, it's a lot more disturbing to undermine one of the pillars. It's a classic case where “I disagree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.” Really, that's the category the media fall into.

So I wouldn't support it either.

I think we just report it to the House committee on procedural affairs and see what they will do with it and hope strongly that it doesn't happen again. Let's get some kind of deterrent going, because we have to put this behind us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Okay. Is there any further discussion on Mr. Siksay's motion?

(Motion agreed to)

It is carried unanimously that we proceed in that fashion. I will tell the clerk to make that submission.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

And could we also make sure that all copies get “confidential” stamped on them, even if they're done in French?

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Yes, sure.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Chair, I have a further point to that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

The motion is dealt with, but we are being fairly flexible here.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

While that motion has been dealt with, I will propose another motion to be dealt with.

That motion would be to ask each member of the committee who was here whether they released the report directly to the specific reporter in question or not, and that that question be posed, and that the reporter be brought before this committee to answer the circumstances under which he got it, if he is prepared to do so. If he's not, that's fair, but I think that those two could give us the answer.

So I move that we pose the question to every member who was here as to whether they released the report to the press. I'll leave that motion at that point and deal with the reporter subsequently.

So that's the first motion.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

You have heard the motion.

Could you write that motion out?

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Chair, there were other members who are not here today.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

It doesn't have to be done today.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Does everyone understand the motion? I think you do. So we'll go to a discussion on the motion.

Mr. Wilson.

[Blair Wilson, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think there are two issues within that motion that have a difficulty coming together, at least in my mind. One of them is the questioning of MPs and whether or not anyone here at the table has leaked information. I have no problem with that part of the equation at all. It's the second part I have difficulty with, with respect to bringing the reporter in front of the committee and questioning--

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

That is going to be a separate motion, Mr. Wilson.

[Blair Wilson, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

So he's proposing two motions, one to question members of Parliament, and, two, whether or not he's going to bring forward the reporter.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Yes.

Let's deal with that first part of the motion.

Mr. Karygiannis.