With a possible election call in the balance, Opposition MPs began grilling Conservative cabinet ministers Wednesday over allegations the government had breached parliamentary privilege.
The government sent two senior ministers, backed up by a phalanx of top bureaucrats, to the House of Commons procedure and House affairs committee to answer accusations that it was in contempt of Parliament.
But Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson did not come empty handed: the ministers and their deputies wheeled in a stack of papers providing what they say are detailed cost estimates of the government's anti-crime bills.
Nicholson said the thick stacks of documents put the cost of anti-crime legislation at $631 million -- on top of $2.1 billion already announced for expanded prisons.
Speaking to CTV's Power Play, he said the documents give details to back up the government's earlier estimates of the cost of several pieces of law and order legislation.
"The speaker made a ruling, so we provided more info 鈥� so they have hundreds of pages today to have a look at. Hopefully, this satisfies them."
And he suggested that the opposition will never accept the government's cost estimates. "We've given them all that information 鈥� but if you don't like it, then you're never going to be satisfied with what we're going to tell you."
The move, which was quickly called a "document dump" by the Liberal and NDP MPs that dominate the committee, comes after last week's unprecedented rulings by Commons Speaker Peter Milliken.
Milliken ruled that the minority Conservatives breached parliamentary privilege by refusing to fully disclose full cost estimates for its justice agenda, corporate tax cuts, and plans to purchase stealth fighter jets.
He also ruled that International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda breached parliamentary privilege by misleading MPs about an altered government document.
Wednesday was the first of three days of hearings by the committee into whether the Harper government and Oda personally are in contempt of Parliament.
NDP committee member Pat Martin said at first glance, the thick sheaf of documents provided by the government today appears virtually useless.
"This is what got dumped on our laps today," he told Power Play host Don Martin. "You could use it I suppose as ballast in your boat but it's not a great deal of use to us. It's the same figures we got before just stretched out and expanded into 400 or 500 pages."
The release of the documents was seen by many as an attempt to derail opposition efforts to hold the government in contempt, a finding that CTV parliamentary correspondent Roger Smith said was almost unprecedented.
"Governments have been found in contempt only very rarely," Smith told 麻豆影视 Channel. "Of course, this is something that could happen during a minority Parliament because in a majority Parliament, obviously, the government would have the power to vote down any contempt measures."
It is widely expected, however, that the committee will find the Government in contempt, which will in turn shift the issue to the Commons.
Martin said the government appears determined to head into an election campaign sooner, rather than later.
"Those two ministers didn't do themselves any favours today, you'd think they were trying to provoke an election the way they came in with that attitude and with this document."
No federal government or cabinet minister has ever been found in contempt before. A contempt finding could carry a heavy penalty, including suspension from Parliament or even, theoretically, jail time.
The hearings began as all parties began preparations for an election that could be triggered as early as next week -- either over next Tuesday's budget or a Liberal confidence motion.
NDP leader Jack Layton said the contempt charges could be "a game changer" for the New Democrats.
Layton says next Tuesday's budget remains a decisive factor in whether his party will continue to keep the Conservatives in power, but said he believes the patience of voters is waning when it comes to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's lack of respect for the House of Commons.
"Any residual benefit of the doubt that people may have been willing to grant ... is rapidly running out," Layton said. "It's a bit of a game-changer that is unfolding now."
Minister of State for Finance Ted Menzies is due before the committee on Thursday, with Oda set to appear on Friday.
The committee has until March 21 to submit its recommendations to Parliament.With files from The Canadian Press
