Liberals have found a free speech issue they can get behind

Nothing motivates a Liberal like self-interest.

The Ethics Commissioner last week ruled that Liberal MP Robert Thibault had to recuse himself from questioning Karlheinz Schreiber before committee. Former PM Mulroney has launched a libel suit against Thibault in a matter involving Schreiber – so you can imagine it wouldn’t be proper for Thibault to question him. it seems like is should be clear-cut to any fair minded person.

But not to Liberals. To them it’s a challenge to free speech so gross that it requires them to pervert the purposes of their committees and overturn the work of the ethics commissioner.

The persecution of a national news magazine and political websites by the CHRT, the libel suits against bloggers – that’s fine with the Liberals. They are firmly behind that – but to prevent a Liberal from using the auspices of parliament to question a man who is suing could be a witness against him in a civil court – that’s one step too far.

“Liberal, New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois MPs may have to find another method to try to disarm a ruling by ethics commissioner Mary Dawson that bars MPs who are being sued from participating in Commons or committee debates and votes on the subject of the suit.

The government, which supports her ruling, tried to thwart opposition MPs by asking the speaker to rule out of order a Commons ethics committee recommendation exempting libel suits as a potential conflict of interest.

Speaker Peter Milliken hinted he will agree with the government that it’s out of order because the ethics committee has no jurisdiction over the matter. His ruling is expected by the end of the week.

The conflict code amendment was suggested by Dawson herself when she ruled that Nova Scotia Liberal MP Robert Thibault should have recused himself from the ethics committee investigation of former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s dealings with German businessman Karlheinz Schreiber because Mulroney is suing Thibault for libel.”