"Mr. Flaherty, best known for his work in a variety of portfolios in the Mike Harris governments in Ontario, grabbed plenty of headlines for taking on squeegee kids and the homeless. But one of Mr. Flaherty's lesser-known moves during his years in the Ontario cabinet goes further in revealing the new federal Finance Minister's political philosophy.

It was 2000 and Mr. Flaherty, then Ontario's Attorney-General, jumped on board a private member's bill designed to deal with the perception that dangerous criminals were getting off easy. His support for the bill, to create a registry comparing the sentencing habits of judges, earned Mr. Flaherty sharp criticism from legal circles and among some elites. "

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