The walk-out came on the same day the CBC celebrated its 75th anniversary, and held an annual public meeting where the topic of transparency was addressed.

The Conservatives called the access to information committee back for a special, closed-door meeting to deal with their motion to have the CBC produce records related to a number of access-to-information requests — including documents that it withheld.

The CBC has exemptions under the Access to Information Act for its journalistic, creative and programming activities, as well as its commercial records.

The Tory motion passed without the participation of the NDP and the Liberals during an in-camera meeting.

The opposition parties maintain that the motion would tread into the territory of the courts, which Parliament has traditionally tried to avoid. The CBC is in the midst of a dispute with the information commissioner at the Federal Court of Appeal over whether she has the power to review documents it has blocked from release.

“We believe the motion clearly oversteps the division of powers between the Legislative and Judicial branches of government,” the NDP said in a statement Wednesday. Continued...