Tory MPs complain their voices muzzled by their own party in Parliament

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper is facing a mini-revolt among Conservative backbenchers who claim their voices have been muzzled in Parliament.

Mark Warawa has asked the Speaker of the House of Commons to intervene in what he says is a breach of his privileges as an MP.

Warawa says Conservative whip Gordon O’Connor struck him from the list of backbenchers who were scheduled to deliver a member’s statement last Thursday because the topic had not been approved.

Warawa is already at odds with the Harper government over his attempts to force a parliamentary debate and vote on a motion condemning sex-selective abortion.

Leon Benoit, another Conservative backbencher, says he too has been told he can’t speak on “certain topics” and has been struck from the roster of speakers as a result.

O’Connor says politics is a “team activity” and it’s not up to the Speaker, as referee in the Commons, to tell each team’s coach “which players to play at any given time.”