Conservative attacks on Speakers in Ottawa, Regina part of a pattern, say Liberals and NDP

The federal Liberals and NDP say conservative politicians are displaying a pattern of attacks against Speakers' independence, an allegation the Conservatives in Ottawa strongly deny.

The accusation comes a day after the federal Conservatives tried and failed for the third time to get House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign over claims he is too partisan for the role.

Their attempts are designed to intimidate and delay House work, government House leader Steven MacKinnon said.

«The fact is that this culture of intimidating the chair is something we have seen in other legislatures and I think Canadians are rightly horrified by it,» he said.

His NDP counterpart Peter Julian said there's a «disturbing undercurrent» in Ottawa and in Saskatchewan among conservatives who are attacking independent institutions, and their latest target is Speakers.

Julian drew a connection to Saskatchewan by linking Jeremy Harrison, former Saskatchewan Party House leader, to federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Both were elected to Parliament in 2004 as Conservatives. Harrison served one term in Ottawa before being defeated in 2006. He was elected provincially in 2007.

While Poilievre is undermining the Speaker in Ottawa, Harrison is doing the same in Regina, Julian charged.

«It's a pattern now,» he told The Canadian Press.

On May 16, Saskatchewan's Speaker Randy Weekes accused several Saskatchewan Party members and staff, including Harrison, of acts of intimidation, such as sending him harassing text messages about his rulings. Weekes was elected as a Saskatchewan Party MLA and served briefly in cabinet.

Last fall, he lost the party's nomination to run in the next election. He tore up his party membership card this month when he made the