Liberals Slammed for Closing House Committees to Public

0:00Conservatives are calling out the Liberals for slamming the door on public debate in House of Commons committees right after grabbing a majority there. This week, on Tuesday, new Liberal MPs join the Health and Ethics Committees tipping the balance. Minutes in, they voted to switch both meetings to closed sessions, kicking out media and blocking online viewing. Tory MPs like Ethics Critic Michael Barrett and Health Critic Dan Mazier say it's a blow to accountability. Barrett noted it makes holding the government responsible way tougher, while Major called it straight up authoritarian. At the Health Committee, Mazier wanted the auditor general to probe prescribed IT, a $300 million program from 2017 that's barely used and set to end May 29th. Instead, Liberals voted to shut off the cameras before questions could fly. Liberal House leaders Steven McKinnon brushed it off, saying committees run their own shows into debates happening plenty on their big legislative push. This power shift has opposition fired up, questioning just how open things will stay.

1:04I'm Cory with the story, and you've been listening to Canada News today, AI-powered local news.