The report, tabled Wednesday afternoon in the House of Commons, is the result of more than four months of drafting, meeting and questioning witnesses -- including two ministers at the heart of the controversy.
Despite the months spent on the report, New Democrats say it "contains fundamental flaws and disregards any real accountability."
The Liberals, meanwhile, said the government is "attempting to whitewash this affair."
Chief among the flaws of the study -- something not mentioned in the report -- is that the Conservatives refused to invite anyone from the Office of the Auditor General to testify, said Malcolm Allen, and NDP MP who sits on the public accounts committee.
"The absolute denial to have the (auditor general) come back and speak to this - I've never seen that before," he said. "In a study like this, the primary witness is often the auditor general. That was a huge issue for us."
The G8 funding came under intense scrutiny after a critical auditor general's report that found no paper trail explaining how 32 beautification projects for Treasury Board President Tony Clement's riding were selected.
Then-interim AG John Wiersema said "rules were broken" in the Conservatives' administration of the money.
The saga began in the lead-up to the G8 Summit in Huntsville, Ont., when a $50-million envelope was transferred from the border infrastructure fund to the G8 legacy fund.
Infrastucture Canada, the federal department responsible for both funds, decided to transfer the money horizontally because it was the most "expedient way to administer the program," the deputy minister told the committee.
Although that may be true, the problem was still twofold, opposition MPs said.
First, they said, the transfer was not made clear to Parliament, which is responsible for approving government spending requests.
"How was Parliament ever supposed to know what the money was for, when indeed it was labelled as something and went altogether to a different place?" Allen asked.
Second, Opposition MPs said, evidence suggested Clement had a strong hand in deciding which projects got the green light.
Documents obtained through freedom of information laws have uncovered that funding applications from local mayors were sent directly to Clement’s constituency office in Muskoka, Ont., rather than to Infrastructure Canada, which was responsible for making final decisions.
The municipalities submitted 242 applications for G8 projects, a number that was cut to 33 before then-Industry Minister John Baird saw them and ultimately approved 32.
In November, Clement told the committee he acted as a coordinator between the municipalities and Ottawa, and encouraged the mayors to choose a few, strong applications -- but never had a hand in choosing which projects would go through.
The only recommendation made in Wednesday's report -- written by a majority of Conservatives -- encouraged the government to be more transparent in how it presents requests for spending and funding transfers.
In the few pages opposition MPs are provided for dissenting opinions, the NDP demanded government hand over all documentation pertaining to the fund be made public and handed to the auditor general.
Conservative MP Daryl Kramp, who sits as vice chair on the committee, was not immediately available for comment.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Conservatives 'disregard accountability' in G8 fund probe: opposition
Source: global news
Author: Amy Minsky
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