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NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says he knew of the misconduct allegations being levelled by two of his MPs against two now-former Liberal Members of Parliament, but he did not go public with the complaints to respect their wishes.

Mulcair said his primary concern was to ensure that the two NDP MPs who were making the accusations got whatever help they needed, and that their wishes were respected.

"Those wishes included a very strong desire to keep this confidential. This was their request and we were not about to override that and make them victims a second time."

The NDP received no prior warning whatsoever from the Liberals that they would go public with the allegations, Mulcair told reporters Thursday that an event in Whitby, Ont.

On Wednesday, Liberals Massimo Pacetti of Montreal and Scott Andrews of Newfoundland were suspended from the Liberal caucus after allegations of what party leader Justin Trudeau called "serious personal misconduct."

Both Pacetti and Andrews deny any wrongdoing.

Trudeau asked the Commons speaker to investigate, saying the days when such incidents were dealt with quietly in Parliament's backrooms are long gone.

Trudeau said he had a duty to act when he was approached with the allegations.

I just know that for someone to come forward to a party leader that is not their own, there is an expectation that there will be consequences, Trudeau told reporters Thursday.

One of the NDP MPs approached Trudeau with allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Pacetti and Andrews on a five-hour bus trip back to Ottawa from Cpl. Nathan Cirillos funeral in Hamilton, Ont., last Tuesday.

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NDP 'disappointed' Liberals went public with allegations

The South Australian Liberal Party has lived up to an election promise by announcing an inquiry into a shale gas industry proposed for the south-east.

The Opposition last month drew criticism for voting against a Greens motion for a parliamentary inquiry after promising to support one prior to the state election in March.

It argued that the Greens motion would affect the entire state and not just the south-east where exploratory drilling and fracking had been taking place on two sites near Penola.

The region was heavily earmarked by the State Government for shale gas extraction - a form of mining that relies entirely on the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking - sparking wide-spread protests from farmers, vignerons, local government and community members concerned about groundwater.

Mount Gambier Liberal MP Tony Bell planned to move a motion for an inquiry in the Lower House next week, where it would require the support of independents Geoff Brock and Martin Hamilton-Smith, a former Liberal, to succeed.

The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy criticised the Liberals' push, saying it was playing into the hands of a group of "hardcore greens activists".

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the Government would not support the motion and either would the two independents - both of whom held positions in Labor's Cabinet.

But Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said his party's motivation for a parliamentary inquiry was to ease community concern about the issue.

"I don't think there's anything that anybody should fear about this," he said.

"In fact, I think that the companies involved should welcome this because I think it will allow everybody a chance for their information to be put on the table."

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SA Liberals to push for fracking inquiry as stakeholders blame 'hardcore greens activists'

Liberals are breaking their own climate change commitments
New Democrat Leader John Horgan explains how the Liberal government promised the cleanest liquefied natural gas industry in the world, but are ignoring 70 pe...

By: BCNDPCaucus

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Liberals are breaking their own climate change commitments - Video

Stymied: Rockdale Mayor Shane O'Brien says the money from the car park sale will be used to pay for a $35 million aquatic centre and a $17 million library. Photo: John Veage

A mayor has accused his political opponents of holding him to political ransom, after they have repeatedly walked out of meetings in an attempt to stop a $50-million carpark sale.

Rockdale Council has received an offer of $48 million for its Chapel Street car park, significantly more than its book value of $12 million, mayor Shane O'Brien said.

But on Wednesday night, council's six Liberals and one independent did not attend the meeting to approve the sale. It was abandoned due to a lack of quorum.

It is the sixth time that this has happened since September, councillors said and every time it has coincided with the car park sale being on the agenda.

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"I wouldn't mind if they just voted it down," Cr O'Brien said. "But for some reason they're walking out or not showing up. They're trying to create a sense of crisis and holding ratepayers to ransom."

The mayor says the money worth about two-thirds of council's yearly income would be used to pay for two major planned pieces of infrastructure: a $35 million aquatic centre and a $17 million library.

Council voted unanimously for the library, construction of which will soon be underway, and a motion to invite businesses to tender for a new aquatic centre passed without opposition in May.

The old, leaking Bexley pool has been closed.

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Rockdale Council: Liberals 'holding ratepayers to ransom'

By The Canadian Press

CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador's Tory premier has lost his first major test in a byelection, with the defeat of his party's candidate in a Progressive Conservative stronghold.

Liberal Rex Hillier took a narrow victory in the district of Conception Bay South, west of St. John's, on Wednesday evening, defeating Tory candidate Barry Petten.

Unofficial results from Elections Newfoundland and Labrador had Hillier with 2102 votes and Petten at 2026 after all 44 polls were counted.

The NDP's Cameron Mercer-Maillet ran a distant third, with just 130 votes.

The district is next door to the riding held by Paul Davis, who was sworn in as premier on Sept. 26.

The Tory government has now lost five straight byelection to the Opposition Liberals in the last 16 months, four of them in districts held by former cabinet ministers.

With the Liberal win, there are 29 Progressive Conservative members, 14 Liberals, three N-D-P and two vacant seats.

Political scientists have said Conception Bay South was a must-win for a government that has seen a series of cabinet ministers depart politics over the last year amid leadership struggles and a slide in the polls.

The riding was held by former justice minister Terry French, who retired from politics in September.

Excerpt from:
Liberals take Newfoundland byelection