Saskatchewan Conservative MP Brad Trost says it’s time government backbenchers started to speak up rather than always toeing the party line often dictated by the PMO and senior staffers.

“If you look at other countries in the world (with a Westminster system of parliamentary democracy) there is a lot more flexibility,” Trost told the Toronto Star Tuesday.

“I think we could have a little more like the Brits and the Aussies and it not be such a huge story when 15 to 20 MPs disagree with . . . (the government) on something,” said Trost, 37, who is known to be among the socially conservative members of caucus.

Backbench Conservative MPs have complained privately for some time that the Prime Minister’s Office was stifling debate within the party by always insisting that they were only there to do what they were told.

The Saskatoon-Humboldt MP in a recent commentary on Saskatoon’s News Talk 650 CKOM also questioned the “ironclad” party discipline in Ottawa.

New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen told the Star the fact the some Conservative MPs are starting to spread their wings “is Stephen Harper’s worst nightmare; it may be part of his undoing.”

Trost told the Star once he resigned himself to the fact the cabinet and other perks were not within his reach anytime soon, it gave him a sense of freedom.

“After eight almost eight years of this place I realize that I actually have more flexibility than I first thought. I just need to take it,” he said, suggesting fellow Tories must stop doing things just because they think they know what the boss wants.

And these same MPs have got to realize that mid-level to upper-level staffers sometime have their own agendas.

“I learned pretty quickly that if someone says the PM or minister X says something you had better check. I can name about four of five instance with various ministers and the PMO where the PM (or) the minister wasn’t thinking that,” he said.

Trost said all too often his fellow MPs self censor because they are worried about being denied advancement if they step on someone’s toes.

“I had a really good colleague who once self-censored himself because he said he was afraid he would lose his appointment as a committee chair . . . that was probably one the saddest moments here in my career,” he said.

Trost said a definite line has been drawn between those in the Conservative party who defend the CBC and “a whole bunch of backbenchers” who want to see the national broadcaster’s budget slashed.

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“It is going to be awful hard to anyone in the front bench to sort of rein in the backbenchers. I suspect you are going to see more things like that,” he said, adding that taking a different point of view is not necessarily being adversarial.

“I think it strengthens parties when they have diversity.”