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Minority government situations are never easy. That's why, when we came into the current minority government, my Liberal colleagues and I committed ourselves to working with the other parties in all aspects of our parliamentary tasks, and to place politics by the wayside.

Unfortunately, of all the commitments the Conservatives made to Canadians during the last federal election, working with the opposition parties was not one that they held dearly. Are we surprised?

My Party leader, Stephanie Dion, has interacted with Canadians from across the country over the last few months.

He has heard their calls to hold off on elections to work out reasonable solutions with the government and other opposition parties to pass legislation that reflects the needs of all Canadians.

That's because unlike the Conservatives, the Liberal Party is not committed to specific regional interests, we want to hear from all Canadians, we want to make sure that the laws passed in Parliament make sense to all Canadians and that they apply to all Canadians.

In the last few weeks, I have worked on both the Ethics and Justice Committees to ensure that the Parliament works with greater accountability. What I've found is that this Conservative government, despite claiming to be more accountable and transparent, doesn't really want tougher standards to apply to its own party activities.

That's why PM Harper is stalling on the establishment of a Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry. That's also why two consecutive Conservative committee Chairs have walked out on their committee work.

Procedure and House Affairs Chairs, Gary Goodyear and Joe Preston, have stopped the committee's activities cold by refusing to accept members' calls look into the Conservative Party's now infamous "in and out" financing scheme.

The same tactic was repeated a week ago at the Committee on Justice and Human Rights when the chair, Conservative Art Hanger, walked out twice because he refused to take a vote on a challenge to accept a motion to study the Criminal Code's application to the Chuck Cadman affair.

The test now is to see whether, in the weeks ahead, this government will stick to its "do as I say not as I do" version of public accountability.

Well, I am ready to address the important matters the committee is faced with including the application of justice to all members of out society and the improvement of legislation to better serve and protect Canadians.

That said, after this break, I'll be going back to Parliament with new colleagues, Bob Rae, Martha Hall-Findlay and Joyce Murray all ready to join the team in making sure that as long as this government stands it is called to accounts.

I'll be continuing my work on Democratic

Reform issues, insuring that all regional voices are heard before our country contemplates fundaReform issues, insuring that all regional voices are heard before our country contemplates fundamental changes to our structure.

I'll also be working with Scott Brison to question the government's desire to sell of Canadian satellite operations to American interests, effectively cutting off Canada's future in this crucial technology sector.

I'll also be supporting Dan McTeague to ensure his bill, C-253, which allows families to deduct RESP contributions to obtain an income tax credit for university education becomes law.

I am ready to move full stream ahead to pass legislation that prepares Canadians for the future while ensuring that federal elected officials are accountable in serving Canadians right now.

* Brian Murphy is the Member of Parliament for Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe. His column appears biweekly in This Week. He can be reached by e-mail at murphb@parl.gc.ca or by phoning his office at 851-3310.