Queen’s University Professor Ned Franks used the term on Tuesday after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) imposed closure on its controversial 100-page omnibus crime bill and Conservative MPs on the House Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee went so far as putting the name of a Federal Court judge on a list of witnesses they want for an inquiry the Conservatives forced over CBC practices under the Access to Information Act.
Prof. Franks was also commenting on Conservative manoeuvres to avoid committee hearings into new information about Treasury Board President Tony Clement’s (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.) role in the distribution of nearly $50-million in federal funding in his riding for the G8 summit last year. At the same time the government wielded its clout to cut debate on the crime bill, C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, to only two more days and forced a committee inquiry into Conservative allegations of improper sponsorships at an NDP national convention last June.
