NDP MP Peter Stoffer wants to put an end to what he calls "headline politics" and limit the government's use of omnibus bills, massive pieces of legislation that wrap up many disparate measures into one long bill.

At a press conference Thursday, Stoffer said omnibus bills prevent members of Parliament and senators from doing their jobs and properly representing the views of their constituents and Canadian taxpayers.

"It shames me to tell my constituents that the money I receive, the pension I get in the future is in many cases under false pretenses because I am not able to do the job that I’m paid to do."

Stoffer has drafted a private member's bill, titled Stop the Bus, would seek to amend the Parliament of Canada Act so governments are barred from packaging unrelated material in omnibus bills.

"Omnibus bills receive very little scrutiny. It's unconscionable that it continues in a democracy," he told CBC News in an interview Wednesday.

"You can't bring in a bill about farming and tack on something about foreign affairs," he said.

The Conservatives have used omnibus bills to change everything from pension contribution rates to the Environmental Assessment Act to refugee health care.

And under the Conservatives, they have become longer. A 2006 budget implementation bill was 198 pages, a mere pamphlet compared with the most recent omnibus budget bill that received royal assent in December, which is 458 pages long.

Stoffer said that the NDP, if elected to form government, would use omnibus bills only if all the packaged material was directly related. Otherwise, the NDP would use stand-alone bills.

Time allocation cuts debate

Opposition critics have said that omnibus bills don't allow for careful scrutiny, especially when there is a time allocation placed by the government in order to fast-track debate.

"It's very difficult to do our job with a time allocation," Stoffer said. "And if it's 450 pages? Nobody could properly scrutinize something that thick. If anybody says that they can, they're lying."

Bill C-43, the most recent omnibus budget bill, brought in a mixed bag of measures such as changes to the Copyright Act and Investment Canada Act, while also establishing tax breaks for small businesses.

Other notable omnibus bills include Bill C-10, formerly known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act, and budget bills C-31 and C-45.

The Conservatives aren't alone in using omnibus legislation, however. The Liberals have used it quite extensively, most notably in 1969 when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau used an omnibus bill to decriminalize abortion, contraception and homosexuality.

Harper opposed Liberal omnibus bill

Even Stephen Harper criticized the Liberals' use of omnibus legislation for their budget back when he was an opposition Reform MP in 1994. He stated it was an affront to the interest of democracy and that it prevented MPs from doing their job properly.

"How can members represent their constituents on these various areas when they are forced to vote in a block on such legislation and on such concerns?"

"Dividing the bill into several components would allow members to represent views of their constituents on each of the different components of the bill," Harper said.

Stoffer believes that Harper's change of heart on the issue is a prime example of his inconsistency.

"It should tell you that Harper has had whiplash many, many times. He's like a chameleon," Stoffer said.

The Stop the Bus bill is not likely to receive first reading this parliamentary session.