NDP Leader Jack Layton raises his cane after speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in Ottawa on April 11, 2011.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
NDP Leader Jack Layton has written to Auditor-General Sheila Fraser and other federal party leaders asking for the release an audit of $50-million of spending on last year's G8 summit, a leaked preliminary draft of which found the Conservative government had misspent money and been less than transparent with Parliament.
"Given that this report has now been leaked twice in draft form, it is incumbent on us all to find a way to get the final version of this report to Canadians," Mr. Layton said in his letter.
"Ms. Fraser made clear in her public comments yesterday that we should all wait until the final report is made public before drawing any conclusions. This is sound advice. But with several different draft versions already illegally leaked to media, the release of the final report has become a very pressing issue."
Mr. Layton proposed that the leaders meet on Thursday morning with Ms. Fraser so she can brief them on issues around the release of this report in hopes they can come to an agreement on how to make the report available to Canadians.
Conservative House Leader John Baird has said his party is very comfortable with the report being made public "so people can come to their own conclusions and their own judgments."
Ms. Fraser intended to release the report last week but she can submit it only to Parliament. And there is no Parliament until after the May 2 election. So the parties are looking at ways they might make it public.
Peter Milliken, the House of Commons Speaker who is retiring as a Liberal MP, "has made it clear in comments to the Hill Times newspaper that the decision on the release of the report lays with us and the Auditor General," Mr. Layton said in his letter to the party leaders.
"Furthermore, the report has not yet been submitted to the Speaker, so rules of confidentiality with respect to House of Commons procedure do not apply in this case," Mr. Layton wrote. "We think that it is in the best interests of all parties involved to clear the air, and only making the full and final report public would accomplish this."