From the Most "Transparent" Government In the Country's History

The records should have been destroyed by now:

The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have forced a meeting of a House of Commons committee to investigate the Liberal government’s refusal to turn over cabinet documents on foreign interference to a public inquiry into foreign meddling in Canadian democracy.

The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that the federal government is facing pushback from Justice Marie-Josée Hogue for citing cabinet confidentiality in redacting records provided to the public inquiry investigating interference by China and other hostile states in the 2019 and 2021 elections.

The government is also withholding an undisclosed number of cabinet documents, according to the Privy Council Office (PCO), which reports directly to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc had initially promised that the Commission into Foreign Interference would have full access to secret documents, including “all relevant cabinet documents,” even if some of that sensitive information can’t be made available to Canadians.

In a letter to House of Commons committee on Procedure and House Affairs on Friday, Conservative and BQ MPs say they want to call Mr. LeBlanc for an explanation.

“It appears the Liberal cabinet is attempting to block the Commissioner from accessing information that may reveal details about what the Liberal government knew about Beijing’s interference in our elections, when they learned about it, and why they attempted to hide it from Canadians,” says the letter signed by Conservative MPs Michael Cooper, Eric Duncan, Blaine Calkins and BQ MP Marie-Helene Gaudreau.

The PCO told The Globe and Mail that nearly 10 per cent of 33,000 cabinet documents provided to the inquiry have been redacted. An undisclosed number of other secret cabinet documents have been completely withheld.

Pierre-Alain Bujold, manager of media relations at the PCO, did not say how many cabinet documents have been held back. But he said the commission has been given access to “relevant information” about what the cabinet knew concerning foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections.

“Despite Minister LeBlanc’s promise that the Commissioner of the Inquiry would have access to all relevant documents, including cabinet documents, an undisclosed number of cabinet documents have been withheld from the Commission and nearly 10 per cent of the cabinet documents that have been produced contain redactions,” the MPs said in their letter to require hearings into the matter.

Asked to explain the reasoning behind the move, Mr. Bujold said, “Cabinet confidentiality is a cornerstone of the Westminster system of government that is protected by convention, common law, and legislative provisions. It is critical to allowing cabinet to carry out its mandate effectively.”

Rather, you DAMN well someone could go to prison over this.