Liberals won’t explain why health committee was moved behind closed doors

Conservative health critic Dan Mazier speaks during a press conference about PrescribeIT at West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 27, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Postmedia

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OTTAWA — Liberal members of the House of Commons committee on health did not provide an explanation on Wednesday for why they moved debate behind closed doors during a meeting on Tuesday.

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The committee was meeting to discuss PrescribeIT, a program that was launched in 2017 to provide an electronic prescription service for pharmacists and doctors, overseen by Canada Health Infoway, a non-profit funded by the federal government.

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The program was cancelled this year, with operations set to end on May 29, due to a slow uptick in the adoption of the product.

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Conservative health critic Dan Mazier has said the program began with a $40-million budget but has since ballooned to $300 million over the past decade.

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This week, Conservatives called for the auditor general to investigate the program.

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During Tuesday’s meeting, Mazier moved a motion for the committee to acquire documents and financial information from Canada Health Infoway and Telus Health on the PrescribeIT program.

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Parliamentary Secretary of Health Maggie Chi then moved to hold the meeting in-camera. A vote followed, with no explanation as to why the debate needed to be shielded from the public.

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The Liberals’ recently acquired majority in the House of Commons means they now have most seats at committees, which means Tuesday’s health committee vote carried.

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On their way into a caucus meeting on Wednesday morning, Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson and Liberal MP Sonia Sidhu, both members of the committee, did not respond to reporters’ questions about the matter.

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Conservative members of the committee expressed their frustration on Wednesday morning.

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“It was astounding, it was awful, I think if that’s what Mark Carney plans to do with his newfound majority, I think Canadians should be really, really distressed,” said Conservative MP Matt Strauss.

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Conservative MP Burton Bailey said he was “very disgusted” when asked about the issue.

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Mazier was told reporters that they should direct their questions to the Liberals on what this means for the status of a potential investigation into the program.

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Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon pushed back on the notion that his party is shutting down debate.

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“Well, I reject the premise,” he told reporters. “No one’s shutting down debate.”

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“We’re having lots of debate every day on a very ambitious legislative agenda,” he added.

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National Post

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