OTTAWA—The Conservative government has been dealt two blows in the House of Commons, bolstering charges that it has lied to the country and kept information that is politically sensitive under wraps.

A ruling Wednesday by Commons Speaker Peter Milliken also pushes political parties closer to the precipice of a federal election call, possibly later this month.

“It’s clear that the government has broken the rules and is in contempt of Parliament,” said Liberal finance critic Scott Brison, who wrote one of the two motions to censure the Tories.

Brison’s complaint originated last November when the government refused a request to provide breakdowns of the costs of its planned corporate tax cuts, of its various plans to bring in tougher crime legislation, and estimates of the costs to buy a fleet of fighter jets.

The government has released some of the costs for a few of its crime bills but stood its ground on the rest, citing cabinet confidence — the need to contain such information within the briefcases of federal cabinet ministers.

In a highly-anticipated ruling, Milliken on Wednesday said that this government’s stonewalling was “unsettling.” Worse still was the refusal to provide an explanation for denying a perfectly legitimate request.

“There is no doubt that an order to produce documents is not being fully complied with and this is a serious matter that goes to the House’s undoubted role in holding the government to account,” he said, as opposition MPs pounded their desks in approval.

Milliken also ruled against embattled International Aid Minister Bev Oda, who is accused of lying to Parliament with a tortured explanation of a political decision to deny funding to a long-standing charitable organization, KAIROS, that often disagreed with Conservative policies.

Oda first suggested bureaucrats had rejected the KAIROS application before it was revealed that someone had inserted the word “not” into funding documents after the bureaucrats had okayed the cash, in order to stop the money from flowing.

Milliken gave his approval for MPs to continue their investigation of the government before House of Commons committees, arenas that will invariably give way to a pitched political battle between the opposition, which smells blood, and the government.

On the motion brought by Brison over the various cost estimates, the prominent Nova Scotia Liberal asked that the committee cast its verdict on the matter by March 21, one day before the Tories will present their annual budget. The motion seeking to find Bev Oda in contempt of Parliament will have the committee return its findings by March 25.

All of this means that opposition parties could opt to defeat the government with a no-confidence motion on the topic of their choosing, rather than having to vote against a populist financial document designed to gain favour with voters in a federal campaign.

The very issues that the Liberals and Conservatives are clashing over in this delicate game of political checkers are expected to figure prominently the next time the parties go to the polls.

The government’s insistence on buying the American-built F-35 fighter jet, which is still under development, has become a source of controversy after numerous delays in the production process and significant cost overruns.

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The Tories are sticking to initial estimates that it will be charged about $9 billion for 65 fighter jets. The Liberals say they plan to hold a competitive bidding process for the purchase of replacement fighter jets if they win the next election.

The Liberals have also denounced the Tory crime agenda, saying it creates more prisoners but ignores the root causes of crime, and plan to freeze the Harper government’s planned corporate tax cuts.

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