Ottawa

What Bev Oda said

For the context to Ms. Oda’s statement in the House today, John McKay’s point of privilege in December is instructive.

On the specific matter of the signed recommendation from CIDA and the hand-scrawled addition to that recommendation of the word “not,” the document in question is reprinted here. When the president of CIDA, Margaret Biggs, testified before a parliamentary committee in December, she said that the “not” was not on the document when she signed it.

Ms. Oda said today that the “not” was added at her “direction.” But when Ms. Oda testified before that committee, she had the following exchange with Mr. McKay.

McKay: Madam Minister, you’ve just said that you signed off. You were the one–

Oda: I sign off on all of the documents.

McKay: Yes, and you were the one who wrote the “not.”

Oda: I did not say I was the one who wrote the “not.”

McKay: Who did, then?

Oda: I do not know.

McKay: You don’t know?

Oda: I do not know.

More from the Globe, CBCCanadian Press and Postmedia.

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