Easter break brings no relief for Harper over caucus unrest

OTTAWA – Restlessness in the Conservative caucus over stiff party control is showing no signs of calming down as MPs head home to their ridings for a two-week Easter break.

Three more Tory MPs stood in the House to assert their freedom to say what they want in Parliament, without first being be vetted by the party leadership.

Their frustrations stem from Vancouver-area MP Mark Warawa’s complaint that he was kept from delivering a parliamentary statement, presumably because it referred to a pro-life subject.

Just a day earlier, Prime Minister Stephen Harper reminded his MPs that they made an electoral promise not to re-open the abortion issue.

But the politicians say this goes beyond a debate on abortion and is actually a question about the right of an MP to represent his or her constituents.

Warawa’s parallel battle to bring the issue of sex-selective abortion before the Commons will also continue into April, as a committee again declared his motion on the subject to be unvotable.