New Liberal Party radio and print ads say Prime Minister Stephen Harper has "something to hide" and that's why he decided to shut down Parliament until March.
The radio and TV ads call the PM's decision a "holiday gift to himself."
The Liberal Party launched the ads hoping to capitalize on some of the growing opposition to Harper's Dec. 30 decision to prorogue Parliament until after the Olympics conclude in Vancouver.
Harper's decision has been the subject of a Facebook group now totaling more than 135,000 people who oppose the move.
The group was launched on Facebook by Christopher White, an anthropology student at the University of Alberta.
"Our default emotion in Canada regarding politics seems to be apathy," White told CTV's Question Period.
White said that "something about what's going on right now" seems to have jolted Canadians into action on his group.
"Maybe it's an accumulation of things we've been seeing over years and years," he said.
"Not even just under Harper, but prime ministers before him -- I think certainly Canadians are starting to stand up and take notice and feel like there is something we can do."
Still, pollster Nick Nanos told CTV News Channel that recent polling numbers show that 43 per cent of Canadians are either indifferent or not opposed to prorogation, meaning Harper is still within his statistical comfort zone on the decision.
"He needs over 40 percent agreement, and it looks like on this particular issue at this time, there isn't enough opposition ... for the Conservatives to worry."
Nanos added that the new Liberal ads are significant because they could mark a shift in party strategy: attacking on the government on transparency.
However, Nanos said the plan could also pose a problem for the Liberals, who are still haunted by the ghosts of the Gomery Inquiry.
"You can imagine that the Conservatives are going to throw that back in the Liberals' face," he suggested.
Party lines are drawn
Harper's decision even drew fire from the Economist, which accused the PM of rewriting the rules of Canadian politics to "weaken legislative scrutiny."
While the party has not launched ads of its own, the NDP is also outraged by the decision to prorogue parliament.
NDP House Leader Libby Davies called Harper's reasoning behind the decision "lame."
"If we're to believe what he says that he's prorogued Parliament -- now for the third or fourth time -- because of the recession and they 'need to think about this'-- all the more reason to call Parliament back together, because that's what we're elected to do," she told Question Period.
Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale, also appearing on Question Period, said he believes that Harper is hiding from public scrutiny by hitting the pause button once again. Harper famously prorogued Parliament last December on the eve of certain defeat from a coalition formed between the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois.
Goodale accused the government of using this break to dodge its responsibility of having to produce prisoner transfer documents relating to the treatment of Afghan detainees.
"A House order was issued requiring the government to produce the documents," Goodale said Sunday. "That's the same political effect, or legal effect, if you will, of a subpoena. And while a subpoena is outstanding, this government cuts and runs."
However, both the Liberal and NDP parties insist they will keep working even if Parliament is not sitting.
"I think it will be more difficult without Parliament sitting," Davies said. "Our job is to, in a substantive way, make sure that parliamentary business is alive and operating in the public interest and holding Mr. Harper to account...
"I think that's what Canadians want to see happen and why they're so darned mad about what he's done."
