The opposition tried again to pin the "in-and-out" election spending controversy now dogging the Conservatives on Prime Minister Stephen Harper Thursday, accusing him of fostering a "culture of deceit" in his party and demanding he take responsibility for those members now facing election-spending violations.

Harper was not in the House of Commons during question period Thursday to face the ongoing accusations over what is known as the "in-and-out" affair and the subject of much controversy on Parliament Hill this week.

Deputy Liberal Leader Ralph Goodale led off the day's attacks against Harper, saying the matter is a "character issue" and that throughout his career the prime minister has made a habit of trying to circumvent campaign-financing laws.

"This is about the public's trust. Nothing happens in the government that this all-controlling prime minister does not dictate. He is, after all, the boss. He makes the rules. The in-and-out scheme, the forged invoices and the voluminous evidence of illegal conduct go right to the top," said Goodale.

In Toronto, Harper continued to defend his party and rejected accusations that it engaged in improper campaign financing practices.

"Well, as I say, I think it’s plain that these particular financial transactions were used regularly and were part of normal party financing up to and including in the 2006 election," he said.

"In the 2006 election, we used practices that had been widely used by all parties at the time, and when Elections Canada said later that they were no longer permitting those practices under the law, or their interpretations of the law, we changed our practices to conform with the new interpretations and operated under the new rules in 2008," said Harper. "But obviously it's not possible for the party to change its practices retroactively."

Elections Act charges

What the Tories call an "administrative dispute" with Elections Canada resurfaced last week when the Conservative party and four of its senior members, including two senators, were charged by the Director of Public Prosecutions with "wilfully" exceeding the $18-million campaign spending limit in the 2006 election by more than $1 million. They are not criminal charges but the penalties for violating election laws could mean jail time or fines.

The Tories also lost a court case over the matter Tuesday when the Federal Court of Appeal sided with Elections Canada.

Elections Canada believes the Conservatives improperly reported national advertising expenses as local expenses that allowed the party to exceed the spending cap. Some of the candidates later tried to claim reimbursements from Elections Canada for the expenses.

Court documents show at least 17 candidates were paid the rebates but Elections Canada would not say Thursday which candidates received rebates, or how much was refunded.

The Liberals and NDP blasted Harper for not kicking the implicated senators, Doug Finley and Irving Gerstein, out of his caucus. Another of the senior Tories facing charges, Susan Kehoe, now works in the federal auditor-general’s office and she should lose her job too, they said.

Both Gerstein and Finley, who was a key campaign organizer in 2006, were in their Senate seats Thursday but they avoided entering the upper chamber through its front doors where reporters were waiting to question them. Finley has used his Twitter account to comment on the issue, however, posting a message on Wednesday night.

Senator responds on Twitter

"Anyone who thinks PMSH was that deeply involved in campaign is an idiot," he wrote in reference to Harper. "Campaign makes millions of decisions in 35 days. Think."

Harper's parliamentary secretary, Pierre Poilievre, fielded the opposition attacks in the Commons, repeatedly characterizing the controversy as an administrative dispute. He also attempted to fight back by saying the opposition parties should be asking questions about the country’s economic recovery and that "personal slurs" will not help create jobs for Canadians.

The advertising spending arrangement involved 67 candidates including several sitting cabinet ministers: Stockwell Day, Lawrence Cannon, Christian Paradis and Josée Verner.

Liberal MP Bob Rae demanded to hear from them in question period Thursday, but Poilievre took all of the questions.

The fourth senior Tory charged in the matter, Michael Donnison, was also hard to reach Thursday. A CBC reporter who went to his office was refused entry.