OTTAWA – The government’s intimidation of witnesses and obstruction of the work of the Afghanistan special committee is a serious breach of privilege, said New Democrat Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar. His motion to ask the Speaker of the House to rule on this issue was passed by the committee and presented in the House of Commons today.

Dewar immediately gave notice that he will argue his question of privilege in front of the Speaker on Monday.

“The government simply can’t get away with intimidating witnesses and refusing to cooperate with a parliamentary committee. There are rules to hold them to account, and I intend to use them,” said Dewar. “It is brutally obvious that there is a massive cover-up here, and one way or another, we are going to get to the bottom of it.”

Dewar will be arguing that the government has intimidated witnesses and refuses to recognize Parliament’s right to investigate, and therefore this constitutes a prima facie case and the government must be held accountable.

Should the Speaker rule in favour, it would mean that there is a strong case that the government is in contempt of Parliament. A debate on the issue can be launched once a ruling is presented. The issue could ultimately end up at the Procedure and House Affairs committee, which would examine it, hear witnesses and decide on appropriate punishment. The scope for punishment is wide.

“The government continues to bully anyone asking questions, and is playing games with the committee,” said Dewar. “This is exactly why we need a public inquiry.”