OTTAWA - The Liberals are accusing the Conservative government of plumbing new partisan depths by politicizing Government of Canada departmental websites.
The charge comes as a result of Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day's posted response to last week's Supreme Court judgment on the constitutionality of security certificates.
The website of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada carried the minister's statement, which concluded with a jab at the Liberal opposition.
"At a time when the Opposition parties are being soft on security and soft on terrorism, Canada's New Government remains unwavering in its determination to safeguard national security,'' said Day's statement.
It's the kind of partisan shot that is the common currency of debate in and around the House of Commons.
But Liberal MP Sue Barnes says it has no place under what amounts to departmental letterhead.
In the Commons on Monday, she said Day had "co-opted the machinery of government, which is supposed to be neutral.''
Barnes actually thought she'd heard Prime Minister Stephen Harper concede the point during Monday's question period.
But Harper's unsolicited aside -- in which he said he'd spoken to Day about changing the website -- was actually the setup for another partisan zinger the prime minister never got a chance to deliver because of time limitations.
It was left to Day to make the prime minister's point in his response to Barnes.
The public safety minister first noted that his partisan observation "was not a public service comment. It was a direct quote.''
Tongue in cheek, Day then offered to fix the offending passage.
"I could just simply add that the Liberals have voted against their own terrorism legislation. I could add that (to the website) if that would make her feel better.''
The Conservatives, who continue to call themselves "Canada's New Government'' in all news releases and correspondence 13 months after they were elected, ran into trouble last September when a semi-retired civil servant loudly objected to a memo demanding bureaucrats use the new name.
The scientist was stripped of his research privileges for his outburst, but was reinstated after an embarrassing public outcry.
Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn clarified that "Canada's New Government'' was only for ministerial messaging: "This is not something that we expect department officials or bureaucrats to use at all,'' he said at the time.
Barnes says the Conservatives did not learn their lesson.
"We see, time after time, them crossing the line, pushing the boundaries,'' she said outside the House on Monday.
"This is about doing the job properly and they have an obligation not to politicize the departments and the bureaucracy that serves all governments.''
