The Liberal government is denying it bundled school bus and highway safety measures with new cannabis legislation to lay a voting trap for the rival Progressive Conservatives with a spring election approaching.

“They had a political motive…let’s throw it in the cannabis bill and make it difficult for the Conservatives to vote against,” Conservative MPP Michael Harris charged Wednesday, calling the move a “squeeze” play.

His party called on Premier Kathleen Wynne’s administration to break up Bill 174, which also extends no-smoking restrictions to vaping, into parts so each component goes to a separate vote.

Government House Leader Yasir Naqvi said the measures were bundled to make sure “a very ambitious and busy legislative agenda” gets through to a final vote in an “expedient” fashion.

“This is just conspiracy thinking,” he added, in reference to the Tory concern. “There was no intention whatsoever on our part to play any political games with this.”

Naqvi, who is also attorney general, added he is “interested” to see how the Conservatives vote on the cannabis reforms, with the drug becoming legal next July 1 and a retail network being set up.

“We’re obviously going to have issues with the cannabis act,” Harris told a news conference.

The school bus protections — proposed by Harris — would mean owners of vehicles that illegally pass school buses could be ticketed after being caught on camera.

Under the current law, video from cameras mounted on the outside of school buses cannot be used as evidence in court without a witness also testifying.

Conservative MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington) said Ontario should follow the lead from the federal Parliament, agreed to by all three major parties, allowing the speaker to break up “omnibus” bills.

“It is unacceptable to have very disparate subjects lumped together in a single bill,” Hillier added, calling it a “blatant and dishonest abuse of the legislative process.”