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A panel studying the future of the National Capital Commission continues to refuse to reveal the participants and content of secret meetings it held over two months to discuss the federal agency that has long been derided for its lack of transparency.
The panel is unmoved by the heavy criticism it has received from local politicians and the public for its decision to keep the meetings under wraps.
Bloc Quebecois Gatineau MP Richard Nadeau said the secret meetings have thrown the legitimacy of the panel's public meetings into doubt.
'SMELLS BAD'
"Are they putting more importance on their secret meetings than the public meetings?" asked Nadeau, who made a presentation to the panel last night during a public hearing in Gatineau. "When you hide things, it smells bad."
The panel's secrecy is being defended by the minister who created it.
"These people have to deliberate and they conduct consultations at the same time," Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said Friday while responding to a question from Nadeau during Question Period. "In order to prepare the work and the recommendations, they need to work together."
The panel is being headed by three people who are paid $1,000 a day for their work. University of Ottawa professor Gilles Paquet, Leikin Group president Barbara Farber and managerial expert Guy Benoit will be handing their report to Cannon by the end of the year.
A spokeswoman for the $1-million panel said yesterday that a list of individuals and organizations involved with the meetings -- held from September to November -- would not be released until the panel's report is made public. What was said will remain secret.