OTTAWA–Liberal MPs have decided to defy Prime Minister Stephen Harper's shutdown of Parliament by showing up for work anyway in Ottawa the last week of January.

Liberals made the decision after a conference call Tuesday between leader Michael Ignatieff and his 76 MPs. Ignatieff reportedly told Liberals their mission was to keep the heat on Harper and keep political issues in the spotlight, even though the Prime Minister has prorogued Parliament until March 3, when the Olympics are over.

So on Jan. 25, when Parliament was originally scheduled to resume, the Liberal caucus will be in the capital. New Democrats, meanwhile, are to hold their caucus retreat in nearby Wakefield, Que., the previous week and at least some NDP MPs will likely be around Ottawa that final week in January.

Advisers to Ignatieff aren't giving precise details of what the Liberal MPs will be doing with no Commons or committees to attend while they're in Ottawa, but "we will be here, and working," an aide said, speaking on background.

Suggestions of some kind of "mock" or "rogue" Parliament have been rejected by Ignatieff. But on the issue of Afghan detainees, and whether the government was aware of the risk of their torture after being handed over by Canadian troops, it's expected that Liberals will be working with New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois to keep the conversation alive.

A special committee looking into the issue was dissolved by Harper's prorogation and the Conservative government has still not responded to an order of Parliament to produce unedited documents related to the Afghan detainee question.

Toronto Centre MP Bob Rae says it's important to show Canadians – and Harper – that federal political debate can't simply be silenced because of a prime ministerial edict.

"He can't shut down the issues. He can't stop people from asking questions about the Afghan detainee issue. He can't stop people from asking questions about the budget. He can't stop people from talking about politics," Rae says. "It's our job as the Official Opposition to respond to that hunger for a real political conversation."

Though there had been some suggestion that Canadians would greet Parliament's closing with a shrug, a Facebook group against prorogation had more than 40,000 members on Tuesday, double the number from the day before.

Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen major cities Jan. 23.

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