Overview
- Conservatives moved to study the issue at the ethics committee, following Thursday's hours-long debate that they say Liberal MPs used to stall a vote to summon the minister and key witnesses.
- The minister, speaking Friday, called the demands "just politics" and said he has steered clear of Alto files since a September 2025 recusal after his partner became a vice-president there in August 2025.
- His office shared a September letter setting a conflict screen, and an ethics office compliance note this month said there was no conflict risk because Alto reports through the transport minister and the finance minister has no hiring power there.
- Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett has formally asked the commissioner to investigate and seeks a review of government decisions tied to Alto, the Crown corporation planning a $90 billion Toronto–Quebec City high-speed rail line.
- The ethics committee now has four Liberals, four Conservatives and one Bloc MP, yet the new Liberal majority in the House could soon change committee memberships, which could affect any effort to compel testimony.