Green fund controversy halts government business in Ottawa

Legislative business in Canada’s House of Commons has ground to a halt – for over six weeks. In early October, the Conservative Party demanded the release of documents related to the government’s Sustainable Development Technology Canada green fund, a program the Liberals scrapped over the summer after the Auditor General found over 90 conflict-of-interest violations and nearly $60 million in funding awarded to ineligible projects.

The government has provided initial documents on the program, but the Conservatives want more handed over to the Commons so they can share them with federal police. The government argues sharing more documents would be illegal and prefers that the matter be studied by a House committee.

Why it matters? Since the Conservative demand falls under parliamentary privilege, most House business is on hold until it’s resolved. But the government can’t end the stalemate without the support of at least one other opposition party, the NDP or Bloc Quebecois, to join them in ending the showdown. But neither wants to do so.

The Conservatives are happy to let the scandal drag on, delaying the government’s agenda and painting them as crooked ahead of a federal election that’s due by October 2025. The showdown indicates an increasingly dysfunctional legislature and weak government, and it suggests that the coming months won’t be as productive as the Liberals would hope – and the country would expect.