RCMP says it already has documents at the centre of a debate bogging down the Commons

The RCMP says it already has documents at the centre of a debate that has brought government business in the House of Commons to a halt.

The governing Liberals have been unable to move forward on any legislation since Speaker Greg Fergus ruled last week that the government «clearly did not fully comply» with an order from the House to provide documents related to a now-defunct foundation responsible for doling out hundreds of millions of federal dollars for green technology projects.

That House order said the documents should be transferred to the RCMP to investigate potential criminality.

But RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told reporters Thursday the Mounties already have the documents in question.

«We did receive the documents and there is an investigation ongoing, so I will limit my comments to that,» Duheme said when asked about the debate in the House.

A spokesperson for the RCMP told CBC News on Friday that the police force received the documents in August as a result of the House order.

«The RCMP can confirm having received the documents from the Office of the House of Commons Law Clerk relating to Sustainable Development and Technologies Canada (SDTC) which were collected in August pursuant to an Order of the House of Commons,» the spokesperson said in an email.

«While the Commissioner has confirmed there is an investigation, given its ongoing status the RCMP is not in a position to provide additional details pertaining to the documents in question.»

The commissioner previously said the RCMP had no reason to suspect criminal wrongdoing in the case.

«The RCMP has concluded that the available reports do not identify any criminal offences or evidence of criminal wrongdoing at this time,» Duheme wrote in a letter to the House