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OTTAWA — Comparisons with the Nixon administration and Watergate are being raised following revelations the prime minister’s office asked for “enemy” lists compiled in advance of this week’s cabinet shuffle.

The PMO sent an email to Conservative ministerial aides on July 4 asking to develop lists of troublesome bureaucrats as well as “friend and enemy stakeholders” for incoming ministers and their staff.

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Stephen Harper’s office has refused to comment on the controversy, which erupted after emails outlining the order were leaked to media outlets in Ottawa by an unidentified source on Monday, the same day as the federal cabinet shuffle.

Postmedia News has confirmed through several sources that the emails are authentic, although it was unclear whether the lists were actually created and distributed to new ministers after the shuffle.

The order was considered controversial from the beginning, one insider said, prompting an immediate pushback from some corners and contributing to the decision not to compile a list of “bureaucrats that can’t take no (or yes) for an answer.”