Former senator Pamela Wallin told a House of Commons and Senate rules committee that the special MAID committee’s process was “chaotic and exclusionary” during testimony tied to a leaked confidential report.
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Former senator Pamela Wallin testified virtually Tuesday from Saskatchewan at a House of Commons and Senate rules and procedures committee hearing, criticizing the leadership of a special joint committee studying MAID.
Wallin said the committee process was “chaotic and exclusionary,” adding, “It was the worst that I’ve seen it.” She did not name the co-chair she took issue with, but said she was not referring to Senator Yonah Martin, whom she described as “fair and balanced.” Wallin said the other co-chair was Liberal MP Dr. Marcus Powlowski.
Her testimony was linked to controversy over information she said was leaked to media in June, before a report recommending the government “indefinitely” pause the expansion of MAID for mental illness was finalized and published. Wallin said she became aware of the recommendation after reading a media article that cited anonymous sources, and she described this as “very troubling.”
Wallin said she raised the issue of the leak with the Speaker of the Senate and, on June 18, the Speaker ruled the matter constituted a prima facie case of privilege. Wallin later moved a motion requesting that the committee examine the leak.
The rules committee was meeting to examine the leak following debate around the MAID report released in June. When the report was published, a dissenting opinion co-authored by Wallin and two other senators urged the government not to accept the committee’s recommendation, and said the committee’s process was “highly irregular and flawed.”
Tuesday’s meeting marked the second session in as many weeks for the rules, procedures and rights of parliament committee. Powlowski did not attend, and a member of the committee said he “refused” to come. In a phone interview, Powlowski said he was unavailable and rejected the inquiry framing, saying it was “a fairly brazen attempt by certain members of the Senate to undermine the democratic process.”
Responding to Wallin’s testimony, Powlowski said, “I was not the source of any leak,” and said the committee “was quite careful to do everything exactly according to the rules.” He also suggested the issue was settled, saying, “It’s over. It’s done,” and adding that some senators wanted to keep arguing for changes.
Senator Peter Harder, chair of the rules committee, said discussions will resume at the next meeting, including whether to ask information technology to trace the origin of the leak or focus on recommendations to prevent similar issues for future joint committees.
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