Begin Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry immediately: ethics committee

A federal ethics committee has called an end to its hearings on former prime minister Brian Mulroney's business dealings with Karlheinz Schreiber and is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper begin a public inquiry as soon as possible.

The decision to end the hearings came Thursday as members met behind closed doors and voted to stop hearing from witnesses after a refusal by Mulroney, who testified before the panel in December, to return for a second round of questioning.

A brief preliminary report tabled by committee chair Paul Szabo on Friday stated that the panel has completed its examination of witnesses and recommended the government "immediately initiate a formal public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair."

According to NDP MP Pat Martin, committee vice-chair, the prime minister said that he would rather wait for the committee's full report to be released, which Szabo said should take two to three weeks.

Liberal committee member Robert Thibault said the inquiry should be given "full latitude to follow the money, to go where the leads bring him and get to the bottom of this whole thing."

University of Waterloo president David Johnston, who was appointed by Harper to help set the terms of inquiry, suggested in a preliminary report in January that the scope of the inquiry be limited.

The NDP's Martin concurred and said Mulroney's refusal to appear a second time underscores the need for further investigation.

"I think his unwillingness to attend speaks volumes,"  Martin said. "The only conclusion that Canadians can draw is that he has something to hide and he doesn't want anybody digging any deeper."

Harper has said he's willing to call a public inquiry once the ethics committee finishes its work, but has yet to indicate how broad a mandate the probe would have.

The recommendation comes a day after Mulroney's lawyer Guy Pratte said there was "no point" in having taxpayer-funded public inquiry because the committee's three-month probe failed to unearth anything new other than details of a private transaction.

Last November, the former prime minister said he would welcome a public inquiry and would attend "with bells on," but later questioned the need for such an investigation, saying he had been vindicated.

Schreiber, who made five committee appearances, has maintained he paid Mulroney $300,000 to lobby the Canadian government for a light-armoured vehicle plant known as the Bear Head project. He also has said that the two reached their working arrangement on June 23, 1993, two days before Mulroney stepped down as prime minister.

However, Mulroney appeared before the committee on Dec. 13 and said he took $225,000 in cash from Schreiber after his time in office for lobbying efforts abroad in the late 1990s.

The former prime minister has apologized for that lapse of judgment, Mulroney's spokesman Robin Sears has said, but added that the business arrangement wasn't illegal or unethical.

Mulroney's spokesman said the committee has not found any witnesses to corroborate Schreiber's allegations.