Cabinet’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into claims of illegal activities by Chinese agents was predictable, a Bloc Québécois MP yesterday told the House affairs committee. “The walls are closing in,” said MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides-Labelle, Que.). “That’s enough.”

“Partisanship is winning out over the integrity of our democracy,” said Gaudreau. “I have said it before and I’ll say it again, we in the Bloc are not out to get power, we are out to get information. And to get information you need experts and there needs to be a public inquiry.”

The Commons on March 23 voted 172 to 149 to “launch a national public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference in Canada’s democratic system.” The motion asked that the investigation be led by a judge selected by all House leaders with powers to compel testimony and subpoena documents. It followed a similar vote by Conservative, Bloc and New Democrat MPs in the House affairs committee on March 2.