Fraser doubts she'll find who leaked G8 report

Auditor General Sheila Fraser said she doubts she'll ever know who leaked her draft reports on last summer's G8 and G20 summits.

Fraser told CBC New's Patricia Bell in Iqaluit she does know one thing — it wasn't her department.

Fraser said tight controls have been put in place over the years to protect the reports. They're all on paper that show they're not to be photocopied, they're numbered and Fraser said her office knows exactly where they went.

She said the report was only distributed to certain people within her office and to key people in government.

Fraser repeated that her office cannot release the report, and said it's clear in the Auditor General Act that the report has to be tabled when Parliament is sitting. She said the leaks puts everyone in a really difficult situation, especially during an election campaign.

Earlier, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said Conservative Leader Stephen Harper should do more to try to secure the release of Fraser's final report on G8 spending.

At a campaign event Thursday in Gatineau, Que., Duceppe said he thought the Privy Council Office may have a copy of the final report, which has not been publicly released. But Fraser's office has confirmed that the Privy Council Office does not have a copy of the final report.

Fraser has said rules prevent her from releasing her  report on G8 spending, despite calls from all four parties — including the Conservatives — to make the report available to the public.

Duceppe said he understands the report would normally be tabled in Parliament.

"I can assure you that neither Jack Layton or Michael Ignatieff or myself will be accusing Mr. Harper of contempt of Parliament if he makes it public," Duceppe said through a translator. "But if he doesn’t make it public, we will be accusing him of contempt of democracy."

Leaks of draft versions of the report on summit spending were disclosed earlier in the week. The Canadian Press reported  Monday that the Conservative government allegedly "misinformed" Parliament to win approval for a $50-million G8 fund that spread taxpayers' money on projects in a Conservative cabinet member's riding.

The Conservatives have said that all money has been accounted for and later drafts of the report do not include the language on Parliament being misinformed.

Harper has said that his party wants to see the "real" report released.

"We have been very clear about this, but the auditor general's office is independent. We can't tell her what to do," he told reporters after the leaders' French-language debate in Ottawa.

The Bloc leader also said Harper isn't being clear about the plan to purchase F-35 fighter jets or how he plans to eliminate the deficit.

 "We’re not asking for that much, we’re asking for transparency," Duceppe said.

The four major party leaders were back on the  campaign trail Thursday  after participating in Tuesday's English-language debate and Wednesday's French-language debate.

Duceppe said Thursday that a strong Bloc Québécois was the best way to block a Conservative majority.

The Bloc holds 47 of Quebec's 75 seats, but the other party leaders are hoping to gain ground in the province.