Liberals want committees to be ‘open,’ minister says as Tories cry foul

As the Conservatives accuse the government of abusing its new-found majority powers, government House leader Steven MacKinnon is saying the Liberals want to ensure committee meetings are “transparent” and “open.” Since the Liberal government officially became a majority on Monday, its MPs have moved to go in camera at several committee meetings and moved to adjourn unilaterally in one instance.At a press conference Friday, MacKinnon said committees are vital to the parliamentary system and the government is responsible for ensuring accountability and transparency.“We’re determined to continue to extend our hand across the aisle and to work with opposition parties to keep those committees transparent, open and doing their work in public as they mostly always have,” he said.MacKinnon said the opposition also has a role to play and that if they cause delays, that will provoke a counter-reaction. Story continues below advertisement “Committees have jobs to do, they have work to do. And when opposition MPs seek only to impede and obstruct the work of committees, then obviously there has to be some order and balance brought to that situation,” he said.“But I accept that the burden of the government is to ensure that this work remains virtually entirely done