Membership of ad hoc committee and Panel of Arbiters is announced

Ottawa, Ontario, May 17, 2023 – The Honourable Mark Holland, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, today announced the membership of the ad hoc committee of members of Parliament and the panel of arbiters that will examine documents related to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

All four recognized parties in the House of Commons agreed to participate in an ad hoc committee of parliamentarians and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which describes the purpose of the committee and how it will do its work.

The ad hoc committee was proposed by the government so that Members of Parliament (MP) can have, in a secure setting, full access to related redacted and unredacted documents. They will receive briefings from officials on the reasons for protecting certain information from disclosure. The documents from the Public Health Agency of Canada pertain to the transfer of viruses and the termination of employment of two staff members.

Where there is redacted information that the committee believes ought to be made public, the panel of arbiters, composed of three former judges, will determine how that information could be disclosed more widely without compromising national security, national defence or international relations, or any other public or private interest.

The ad hoc committee is composed of one MP from each of the recognized parties, which can also designate one alternate MP to act as a replacement when necessary.

The committee members are: 

• Iqra Khalid (Liberal)
• John Williamson (Conservative)
• René Villemure (Bloc Quebecois)
• Heather McPherson (NDP)

The committee alternates are:

• Taleeb Noormohamad (Liberal)
• Marty Morantz (Conservative)
• Christine Normandin (Bloc Quebecois)
• Don Davies (NDP)

The members of the panel of arbiters are:

• The Honourable Ian Binnie, C.C., K.C., of Toronto, Ontario, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada; 
• The Honourable Eleanor Dawson, of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, former judge of the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal; and,
• The Honourable Marshall Rothstein, C.C., K.C., of Vancouver, British Columbia, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.