OTTAWA - With Prime Minister Stephen Harper taking the day off, the Conservatives are trying to get their campaign back on familiar turf and leave behind the distractions that dogged their first week.
Ministers John Baird and Lawrence Cannon held a news conference in Ottawa today to denounce the economic policies of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.
They say the Liberals have already announced $4 billion in permanent annual spending in just the first week, and plan to increase taxes on corporations by $6 billion.
But the event hit a snag when a woman describing herself as a 51-year-old mother interrupted the news conference to lecture the ministers on what she called the government's anti-democratic behaviour.
Sheenah McMahon promised to "dog" Baird's campaign in the nation's capital unless he explained why the Conservatives were held in contempt by Parliament.
Baird responded that the opposition parties acted as both accuser and judge on the issue, but the woman said she was not satisfied.
Public opinion polls suggest voters consider the Conservatives to be the best economic managers of all the parties, but their first week of campaigning has been dominated by distractions.
They include the format for the upcoming televised leaders debate, controversy surrounding volunteers in local riding campaigns, and Harper's limits on questions from reporters.
