OTTAWA - Opposition parties are scrambling to keep the doors open as a Commons committee meets to draft a witness list for hearings on the F-35 stealth fighter.
Both the NDP and the Liberals are asking the Conservative majority on the public accounts committee to give up the idea of holding the meeting in camera.
Since last year's election, the governing Conservatives have made a habit of conducting routine committee meetings in private.
The committee is examining the auditor general's finding that the Defence Department didn't disclose the full cost of the multi-billion dollar stealth fighter program.
The first hour of today's meeting was taken up with opposition arguments over public access, even though Conservative MPs made no immediate move to go behind closed doors.
The full hearings into auditor general Michael Ferguson's report are expected to start Thursday.
© The Canadian Press, 2013