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Twice, the government has tried to push through proposals that would make the House of Commons more compliant to its agenda — most recently, the package of rule changes that included removing Friday sittings and ending the opposition’s ability to filibuster government bills.

Twice, the opposition forced the Liberals to back down by insisting they would not accept unilateral changes to House procedure.

Yet despite the promises that they intend to bolster the standing of our parliamentary institutions, the government continues to do just the opposite.

Their election platform said a Liberal government would strengthen the role of parliamentary committees and the role of committee chairs, including electing them by secret ballot.

However, when it came to the committee on national security and intelligence, newly created under an act that passed in June, Justin Trudeau parachuted in Liberal MP David McGuinty as chair.

The government argued there was no contradiction in this approach because the committee will operate outside the normal House of Commons structure, due to the sensitivity of the material it will handle.

But now it looks as if the Prime Minister wants to dictate not only who will chair the committee, but also which opposition members will sit on it.

Back in February of last year, NDP leader Tom Mulcair wrote to Trudeau, expressing his displeasure that McGuinty had been appointed as chair without consulting the opposition.