Angry in the Great White North

From the Globe and Mail:

Parliament's independent Ethics Commissioner is incompetent and should be replaced, opposition critics say.

Bernard Shapiro, who was appointed by the Liberals last year, has been asked recently to look into at least two cases of alleged conflict in the Liberal cabinet.

He has not submitted final reports on either and has been accused by the opposition of dragging his feet and not handling the job properly.

But the last straw was to refuse to investigate the Prime Minister's role (and thus the role played by his Chief of Staff Tim Murphy) in the Grewal affair.

They have demanded an explanation, and MP Ed Broadbent said he will call formally for Mr. Shapiro's resignation in the Commons next week.

Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay supports the NDP complaint.

The Prime Minister is being grilled day after day to explain why, if he knew that Gurmant Grewal was angling for a reward to help the Liberals out, did the Prime Minister not call the RCMP.

His answer has been the same -- the sky is blue, I like cheese, look out behind you -- that is to say, he has never directly answered the question. And it appears the Bernard Shapiro isn't likely to change that state of affairs.

Just how serious is the NDP about demanding Shapiro's resignation? Will they bring down the government over it?

[Update: Captain's Quarters weighs in, including a check of what Democracy Watch has to say.]