An attempt to hold military officers to account for allegedly trying to intimidate an injured Canadian soldier into toning down his testimony before a parliamentary committee has been smothered behind closed doors.
The House of Commons defence committee met for almost an hour out of the public eye on Wednesday to deal with a motion by Liberal MP John McKay over the case of Cpl. Glen Kirkland.
Following the meeting, the only thing McKay and New Democrat defence critic Jack Harris would say was that the motion, which called on the committee to ask the Commons to investigate the alleged intimidation, no longer existed.
Neither of them were allowed to say whether the motion had been voted down or withdrawn because proceedings that happen behind closed doors are to remain secret.
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Conservative MPs, who form a majority on the committee, used their numbers to force the closed-door session, which have become more and more common around Parliament, even on routine matters.
"Witness tampering is a serious offence," said McKay. "By instructing Cpl. Kirkland to stay 'within his arcs' his commanding officers were instructing him to withhold information from the committee, making it virtually impossible for parliamentarians to understand the issues that ill and injured members of the Canadian Forces face."
The Canadian military claims it was only offering communications guidance when it issued those instructions, but both Opposition parties say they look at it as an attempt to stifle the flow of information, particularly the kind that embarrasses the government.
"It is important in a functional democracy that Canadians have the ability to speak freely to their parliamentarians, especially when their experiences can be of help to the committee," McKay said ....
