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There are filibusters, boycotts, cancelled committees and procedural ploys. Parliament has this week become the scene of a contest of wills between the government and the majority, and their squabbles have stalled proceedings.

Now that the threat of a spring election has passed, political parties are measuring their strength with parliamentary tactics. And the minority Conservatives are seeking to stonewall opposition attacks near the end of a session that they hope to wind up before its scheduled June 22 close.

"The three opposition parties are behaving like they're a coalition government and we're utilizing the tools that are available to us to push back," Jay Hill, the government's chief whip, said yesterday.

In a Commons committee, two Tory MPs filibustered a hearing into the censoring of documents on detainees in Afghanistan, speaking for five hours so that two scheduled witnesses could not appear. They gave up at 2 p.m.

The day ended with Saskatchewan Tory David Anderson delivering a 50-minute speech on government agriculture policy at another meeting, apparently to block a crucial motion on the government's handling of the Canadian Wheat Board.

Emotions have been raw: the Commons' deputy speaker, Tory MP Royal Galipeau, charged across the aisle on Wednesday to berate Liberal MP David McGuinty, wagging a finger in his face over a Question Period remark. "This government lost control of itself," Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said yesterday, insisting that the opposition parties have not been picking fights.

One Conservative strategist said that Mr. Harper's entourage is tired after a spring of high-pressure politicking and election planning, and have suffered a few rough weeks where they were on the defensive, notably about their handling of the transfer of Afghan detainees. So they have responded with efforts to shut down the opposition.

They are hoping to end the session early to seek a fresh start, the strategist said, with a summer of meetings with premiers and world leaders - and they will likely prorogue Parliament so that the government can set out a new agenda in a Throne Speech in the fall.

In Parliament, the government controls many levers, but the opposition majority not only can outvote the government on legislation, it also controls the flow of committee business and the types of hearings that are held.

Since a snap election is no longer likely, opposition parties have stepped up efforts to embarrass the government in Parliament.

When opposition MPs scheduled hearings to examine the cancellation of the Court Challenges program, which financed minority-rights court cases against the government, the Conservative chair of the official languages committee, Guy Lauzon, cancelled the hearing. The opposition voted him out, and the government boycotted the election to replace him, so the committee close down.

In Waterloo, Ont., yesterday Mr. Harper traced the turmoil back two weeks to the controversial grilling of Hockey Canada officials over the appointment of Shane Doan as Team Canada captain even though he was alleged to have uttered a slur against French Canadians.

"I think in the case of the official languages committee, Mr. Lauzon and our members have tried to work very well with the opposition over the past year but, you know, we recently had that goofiness with the Shane Doan incident and I think our members at that point said this was an embarrassment to Canada, attacking a national hockey team, and in future we are going to be much clearer about what we want to discuss," he told reporters.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe argued that the Conservatives are just upset at not getting their way.

"They got 36 per cent in the elections, they are in the minority here," he said. "This is the bulldozer method, and I say to myself that we're lucky that they are a minority. Imagine if they were a majority."

Time to clean House

The spate of parliamentary shenanigans over the past week is nothing new. Here's a guide to past tomfoolery and misdemeanours in the House of Commons:

RINGING THE BELLS In 1982, Opposition parties objected to the Energy Security Act, requesting it be divided into several bills to be voted upon separately. Opposition MPs refused to appear for a vote and the House of Commons bells calling members to the vote rang for two weeks around the clock, as the Speaker refused to break the deadlock. Finally, the parties reached an agreement.

RAT PACK After the 1984 election, when the Turner Liberals were reduced to 40 seats, a quartet of Liberal MPs called the "rat pack" - made up of, from left, Brian Tobin, Don Boudria, Sheila Copps and John Nunziata (shown with John Turner, middle) - pressed Brian Mulroney's government on its scandals during Question Period. The four held mostly left-leaning views and they pounded the Tories on anything from patronage to policy.

LIBERAL DELAY In spring of 2005, Paul Martin's government moved all opposition days - when opposition parties can table no-confidence motions - to the end of May. The government was then teetering on the edge of defeat after damning testimony at the Gomery commission. The delay of the opposition days allowed the Liberals to survive a budget vote with the support of the New Democratic Party and after having snatched high-profile MP Belinda Stronach from the Conservatives.

DISSING CHAREST In 1997, Reform MP Darrel Stinson, pictured, challenged a Liberal MP to a fight over being branded a racist in the House of Commons. Later that year, during a heated debate on the Canada Pension Plan, Mr. Stinson called Jean Charest, then Progressive Conservative Party leader, a "fat little chubby little sucker."

FIST TO THE BLOC In the dying days of the spring parliamentary session last year, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, pictured, and Jacques Gourde raised a bended arm with a fist toward Bloc Québécois MPs. A third Conservative MP was seen instructing Mr. Poilievre on how to perform the gesture. Mr. Poilievre and Mr. Gourde later apologized.

Sources: Parliament of Canada,

Alex Dobrota/The Globe and Mail