Frustrated by the lack of answers to their questions about Google Canada’s news blocking, federal lawmakers forced the swearing-in of the company boss in the middle of a committee meeting on Friday.

• Also read: Access to news: Canadian Google executives in committee on Monday

• Also read: Google ‘intimidation’: Leaders urged to explain themselves before Parliament

Sabrina Geremia, Google’s vice president and director of Google Canada, took part in a two-hour figure skating demonstration after the company confirmed the news blocking for 1.2 million Canadians would end next week.

“It’s disgusting what we’re seeing today,” said Liberal Chris Bittle.

“In my seven years in office, I have never seen a witness sworn in mid-testimony because the members of the committee don’t believe you are honest, Mr.^Me Geremia.”

“You act like you don’t know anything. If that’s true, I think your shareholders should be outraged, but I think you’re dodging,” he added to his colleagues on the Standing Committee on Cultural Heritage.

The blocking of Canadian news on its platform, which began in February, is just a “test” conducted “in full transparency,” Mr.^Me Geremia, present via videoconference.

“We’re literally in the process of gathering information to understand what impact C-18 would have,” she said.

Google has “tested” news blocking as a bargaining chip against the Trudeau government’s C-18 bill, which would force the web giants to return some of the profits made at the expense of Canadian media by forcing deals to be signed.

During the committee meeting, originally scheduled for Monday but postponed to Friday due to technical problems, very few concrete replies were leaked out.

Expected, M^Me Geremia and his colleague Jason Kee, Public Policy Manager at Google Canada, particularly argued for the “little time” to prepare before their performance.

This is also one of the reasons why, at the request of the committee members, a list of Canadian media disadvantaged by Google’s guidelines was not submitted before the meeting.

Google also didn’t provide an explanation for the absence of several of its US-based executives, despite being invited to the show.

Among the questions that remained unanswered, Mr.^Me Geremia avoided saying whether Google used users’ personal information to enforce its policy and dodged many questions about exactly who the group was or who decided the blocking strategy.

Incredulous at the empty phrases, the members of the committee more and more kindly agreed to compel the Witnesses to take an oath of allegiance, a procedure reserved for rare occasions.

“As President, I have to say that I have difficulties when the questions are clear enough […] and they are not being answered,” said Hedy Fry, chair of the committee.

Through pain and misery, Liberal Anthony Housefather managed to get Mr.^Me Geremia that Kent Walker, Google’s director of global affairs and chief legal officer, knew about the controversial policy.

Even the conservatives, who are cold on Bill C-18, are still frustrated.

“Perception is reality and you missed your chance,” said curator Martin Shields.