Conservative Leader Stephen Harper speaks at a campaign rally in Toronto on Wednesday.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at the Granite Brewery in Toronto, Ont. on Wednesday. (CP / Tom Hanson) Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and candidate Peter Kent campaign at a rally in Toronto Wednesday morning.

Senate, courts would keep Tories in check: Harper

Updated Wed. Jan. 18 2006 11:22 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

A Conservative government would have to work with the checks and balances of a Canadian court system that bears the mark of more than a decade of Liberal reign, Stephen Harper said Wednesday.

The Tory leader drove home comments he made Tuesday that the Conservatives would be unable to wield absolute power even as a majority, as they would face a series of checks and balances from Liberal-appointed judges and senators.

"We have no alternative but to accept the checks; they're part of our system," Harper told a news conference in Toronto, facing some of the sharpest questioning he has faced recently.

"Judges are named, (and) judges can't be removed by governments except under extraordinary circumstances."

Harper has vowed to end the Liberal practice of "parachuting" political staffers into civil service positions where they can exert influence.

The Conservative leader also said he believes civil servants would welcome a change in government.

"Obviously, the civil service has worked for many decades much more closely with Liberal governments than others," Harper said.

"I actually think that the vast majority of civil servants would welcome a government that would provide some direction for the civil service and for the country. I think they've been lacking that the past few years."

Meanwhile, Harper also expressed concern about obstruction that Liberal-appointed senators could pose for the Tories should they form government.

"The Liberal Senate in the past was extremely unco-operative when their party wasn't in power, so it's a worry," he said.

"I hope that better judgment will prevail and the unelected Senate will play the role that historically it has played, which has been a useful technical role but will not try and interfere with the democratic will of the elected House."

Harper woos Toronto voters

Harper was in vote-rich Toronto in an effort to wrest seats away from the Liberals, who have long enjoyed strong support in Canada's largest city.

He made a direct appeal to Torontonians to offer their support so the city "can have its real place in the centre of our government."

"As a Torontonian, born and raised, I extend my hand to you, I ask you to extend your hand to your fellow citizens in this city and ask them to be part of the important task we are undertaking here, to be part of our agenda of positive change for this country," Harper said at a brewery in the heart of the impenetrable Liberal fortress.

Touching on the rise in gun crime that has become a smouldering campaign issue for the city, Harper reminded voters of the law-and-order package he unveiled about two weeks ago.

"We should be able to walk freely on our streets. We should feel safe in our neighbourhoods. We should live without fear in our cities and we should never view these things as luxuries, they are our right as Canadians," he said.

Harper also made a personal commitment to maintain funding for the Toronto Harbourfront Centre over the next five years.

"It is a wonderful facility, it provides a great place for families to gather, to stroll, to enjoy the cultural riches of this city," he said.

"If I'm elected prime minister, I will take personal responsibility to make sure that this commitment actually gets delivered to the Harbourfront Centre."

Harper was joined at his campaign stop by former news anchor Peter Kent, the candidate for the St. Paul's riding that has a long Liberal history.

Kent is running against Carolyn Bennett, public health minister, who won her seat in 2004 by nearly 21,000 votes.

While the Conservatives may be leading the polls in much of the country, downtown Toronto is still proving to be a virtually impenetrable fortress for the Tories.

At stake are 23 ridings in Canada's largest city, and all but one is now in Liberal hands.

Though winning seats in Toronto would help the Conservatives' chances of forming a government, Tories have been shut out of Toronto for the past four federal elections. Currently, NDP Leader Jack Layton holds the only non-Liberal seat in Toronto.

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