Mulroney could be found in contempt of Parliament: ethics chairman

The head of the Commons ethics committee suggested Thursday that Brian Mulroney could be found in contempt of Parliament if he doesn't produce documents related to the Karlheinz Schreiber affair.

Committee chairman Paul Szabo insisted he's not making threats, but said it's a real possibility the committee could recommend to the full House of Commons that it hold the former prime minister in contempt if the impasse isn't resolved.

"It's a matter of fundamental authority of Parliament," Szabo told the Canadian Press.

"The committee would look very weak if it didn't take all necessary steps to get that information."

Still, Szabo said he hopes for an amicable settlement of the dispute.

The Liberal MP sent a summons to Mulroney's lawyer earlier this week demanding documentation about how Mulroney spent the money he received from Schreiber, a controversial German-Canadian businessman.

Szabo also wants written details of the lobbying efforts Mulroney undertook on Schreiber's behalf, including names, dates and details of meetings with international officials.

Schreiber, who is fighting extradition to Germany to face fraud and other charges, said Mulroney did nothing to earn the $300,000 he paid him in the early 1990s. Mulroney, however, said he received $225,000 for acting as a lobbyist for a German arms company on behalf of Schreiber.

The ethics committee is probing the business relationship between the two men.

'You have to protect the authority of Parliament'

Szabo said the committee has a duty to use the authority it has.

"We've been saying all along we have the authority to do certain things. If you're not prepared to act on those authorities … this is a sign of weakness. You have to protect the authority of Parliament."

Szabo, in a separate letter to Mulroney lawyer Guy Pratte, has also sought a guarantee that Mulroney would personally appear for a second round of testimony on Feb. 28.

There was no immediate response from the Mulroney camp. Pratte did not return phone calls or e-mail messages, while Joseph Lavoie, a media spokesman for Mulroney, declined to comment.

Any recommendation by the committee to find Mulroney in contempt would require a vote of the full panel, Szabo said, noting that a final decision would be up to the full Commons.