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The NDP managed to block travel by all parliamentary committees this winter in an unsuccessful effort to convince the Conservatives to allow cross-country hearings on the Tories’ contentious new elections act.

On Tuesday, the Conservatives rejected opposition calls for hearings on the act as a “costly partisan circus,” saying that witnesses can come to Ottawa to testify.

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On Wednesday, the New Democrats denied unanimous consent to a report from the obscure committee that authorizes parliamentary travel, which means MPs from all parties will miss all-expense-paid trips to Texas, Washington, New York, Chile and Peru.

The transport committee, which is studying the transport of dangerous goods, had trips planned to Vancouver, Kitimat, B.C., Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, North Dakota and Houston. The human resources committee had trips to Quebec City and British Columbia planned. Finance had trips to Washington and New York planned and the trade committee was going to Chile and Peru.