Harper government loses on two fronts: Speaker rules against it on Oda, costs
Posted Mar 9, 2011 6:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The Harper government suffered a double blow Wednesday in its battle with the opposition.
The Speaker of the House of Commons ruled against the Tories on two major issues.
Peter Milliken found that International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda breached parliamentary privilege by misleading MPs about the alteration of a document.
He also found that the government breached parliamentary privilege by refusing to provide all documents requested by the opposition on the cost of its crime bills and tax cuts. The government has refused to disclose the full price tags, arguing they constitute cabinet confidences.
It’s now up to a Commons committee to decide what action to take against the Conservatives.
