Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, last June the Trudeau government was so desperate to keep hidden uncensored documents on the firing of two scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg that it took the unprecedented step to file a law suit against the Speaker of the House of Commons in Federal Court. This year, now that they’ve bought the NDP support until 2025, the Trudeau government thinks it can create an ad hoc committee with just their coalition partner, show them some documents and call that transparency. It’s nothing less than a sham, government leader.

Leader, your government has defied four previous orders from the House of Commons and its committees to produce these documents. Why not show some real transparency and respect for Parliament and produce the documents as ordered?