Stephen Harper's Conservatives are questioning Michael Ignatieff's leadership on the economy - especially his declaration that the economy is his priority.
The criticism comes in an internal party memo to Tory MPs and supporters. "The Ignatieff Liberals didn't even bother to move an amendment on the budget, a fairly routine Parliamentary process," it says. "Even Stéphane Dion managed to do this when he was Liberal leader in 2008."
Yesterday, the Bloc Québécois moved an amendment on the budget - which was delivered last week - to force the government to stop tax benefits to the oil industry and use the money to compensate Quebec for the harmonized sales tax and improve EI benefits.
The amendment failed as did the NDP's sub-amendment that included eliminating tax benefits to all big corporations and protecting pensions.
"Michael Ignatieff says the economy is his priority," the internal Conservative Party memo says. "By failing to even bother proposing an amendment to the budget Ignatieff's Liberals are ducking their Parliamentary duty. They are demonstrating to Canadians that they have nothing relevant to say about the economy."
The memo says "Ignatieff's lack of leadership and failure to deal with the budget proves once again that he isn't in it for Canadians - he's only in it for himself."
Not quite, say the Liberals. A senior Ignatieff official says the Grit caucus has "decided not to play games in the House about their 'recalibrated' dud."
The Liberals have been critical of the six-week shutdown of Parliament that Prime Minister Stephen Harper said was needed so that he could "recalibrate" his legislative agenda with a new Throne Speech and budget.
The Liberals were not impressed with that effort. Still, they will not try to defeat the government over it.
In fact, a Liberal insider says that in caucus today the Liberals reaffirmed Mr. Ignatieff's earlier statements that they would not try to bring down the government.
If the opposition parties vote against the budget, which is a confidence matter, the government would fall and there would be a general election.
"We are pulling a 'Dion'," says the insider, referring to the fact that under Mr. Dion's leadership the Liberals made sure the government did not fall. "Some members will be out of the House for 'riding events.'"
With a report from The Canadian Press