[welfare]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/hous...ward-1.4919481

OTTAWA -- The House of Commons Health Committee has voted unanimously to issue a formal summons to one of the World Health Organization’s senior advisers to testify about the group’s contested response to COVID-19.

During a virtual meeting on Thursday, committee members from all parties chose to escalate their ask for Canadian epidemiologist Dr. Bruce Aylward to appear by video conference – an invitation extended twice before.

Conservative Health Critic Matt Jeneroux said outside of Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, Alyward is a key witness to the judgments made internally at the WHO, which informed Canada’s decision-making on COVID-19.

In February, he was appointed to lead the WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19 by the WHO’s Director-General.

"We want to ask questions on some of the advice they gave related to: person-to-person transmission – which they originally said couldn’t happen, we now know it does – patrolling the borders; the use of masks; all advice they gave that has changed," said Jeneroux.

House of Commons' committees have the power to summon witnesses if they feel their evidence is prudent to an issue up for study. Their power does not extend outside of Canada, which means Aylward could be issued the summons when he sets foot on Canadian soil.

Summoning a witness isn’t a common procedural practice. More recently, the House of Commons Ethics committee summoned Facebook executives Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg to appear following Cambridge Analytica’s global data breach.

Earlier in the month, Aylward abruptly cancelled his scheduled appearance before the committee which was followed up by another invitation from MPs to appear by video on April 29.

The WHO’s legal team proposed instead sending over written responses to questions posed by MPs.