Ottawa

ITQ Committee Lookahead: Search warrants and Speaker’s warrants

A quick rundown of the witnesses for the fourth (but not, by any stretch of the imagination, final) hearing on the Conservative in-and-out financing scheme, not one of whom required the chair to issue a summons in order to appear:

Morning session – 10am to 5pm

Public Prosecution Service of Canada Acting Deputy Director Chantal Proulx and senior counsel Don Beardall, who will discuss the role that the office has played thus far during ongoing investigation by Elections Commissioner William Corbett, and outline how an eventual prosecution might proceed, should charges be laid against party officials.

Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand and Elections Canada legal services director Francois Bernier are back for a second round  to answer questions on any issues that may have come up since their appearance last month. It might be a very short session – it’s not clear whether there are, in fact, all that many new questions, although the Conservative members will likely hammer the Chief Electoral Officer over the so-called “Mayrand Accommodation”.

Afterwards, it’s time for committee business – selection of future witnesses, scheduling for future meetings. If Pat Martin gets his way, however, it could also lead to discussion over what steps should be taken against those witnesses who failed to show up this week, despite being issued – and in many cases, served – with summonses compelling their appearance. If that happens, expect endless peevish points of order from the government side — possibly even a theatrical walk-out midway through, cleverly timed to capture maximum media attention.

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