Members of the public accounts committee gathered in Ottawa Thursday for a special meeting to discuss the auditor general's report on Canada's contentious F-35 purchase plans.
But opposition members faced roadblocks in launching a comprehensive probe as the majority Conservatives used their power in the all-party committee to postpone discussion of who would appear until next week.
The meeting also provided no guarantee from the ruling party whether a planning session Tuesday, where potential witnesses will be discussed, would be open to public scrutiny or remains behind closed doors as many committee meetings have been since the last election.
"They're looking to control the witness list," New Democrat MP Malcolm Allen told The Canadian Press.
A motion to study the issue and begin hearing from witnesses next week was filed by Liberal public accounts critic Gerry Byrne, with the backing of other opposition members of the committee.
"Liberals called this meeting to get down to the business of hearing from witnesses on the F-35 immediately upon the return of Parliament," Byrne said in a statement.
"We urge the Conservatives to commit to debate my motion to study the auditor general's report on the F-35 in a fully open and public manner, and they must allow officials to testify."
The Liberals want to call Auditor General Michael Ferguson, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page, as well as "several key officials" from the Department of National Defence, Public Works, Industry Canada and Government Services Canada.
"Liberals have also tabled a motion for the Production of Papers that would compel the government to produce documents related to the F-35's acquisition," said the statement from the Liberals.
The Conservatives have a majority on the committee, and therefore can determine which witnesses are called as well as the agenda and whether meetings are open or held in-camera.
Newfoundland Liberal MP Gerry Byrne cautioned that picking witnesses should not be left to the Conservatives or senior members of the bureaucracy.
"There's vested interest on the part of deputy ministers for not having subordinates appear," he said. "These officials I've called for in my motion, I wanted to know what did they know, when did they know it and who did they tell it to?"
The auditor general's report was critical of the federal government's F-35 procurement process in a number of areas, claiming the government failed to communicate clearly on the process and that cost estimates for the 65 stealth jets were off by about $10 billion.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay has said the difference is attributable to accounting differences -- mainly the fact the government estimates didn't factor in running costs over the lifespan of the jets, such as fuel and pilots' salaries.
