Fairness in Committees (Administration of Justice in the House of Commons‪)‬

On April 10, 2008 the House of Commons found Barbara George, Deputy Commissioner of Human Resources for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to have made misleading or false statements in testimony to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts during its hearings on the administration of the RCMP pension and insurance plan. The Committee recommended unanimously in its Report tabled on February 12, 2008 that she be found in contempt but that no further action be taken. The decision raised questions about whether the Deputy Commissioner had been treated fairly, about the relationship between the Canadian Charter of Rights and parliamentary privilege and about the role of parliamentary committees in carrying out investigations. This article points out some important differences between parliamentary proceedings and court proceedings. **********