Prime Minister Paul Martin would like to see more free votes and a tougher, more consultative road for bills to travel down before Parliament makes them law.

However, a reform package his government announced Wednesday didn't include concrete proposals on one contentious issue - allowing MPs to review nominations to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In his "action plan," some parliamentary committees deemed "appropriate" will be consulted on how best to implement a review of potential appointments to the country's highest court.

Right now, the prime minister has sole discretion to name appointments, although there is a substantial vetting process behind the scenes.

Martin has been on record as wanting to change that process and give MPs a role. Roger Gallaway, the parliamentary secretary for democratic reform, said last Thursday there would be a move towards Parliamentary review.

But Justice Minister Irwin Cotler told journalists after a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday that the current system may not be abandoned.

Parliamentary review is but one option, and the government wants to hear the views of its MPs, he said.

"It may be that, at the end of the day, they'll say: `Hey, you know what, we (already) have the best system in place.'"

The 15-page plan proposes a new voting system for the House of Commons that divides legislative measures into three categories:

• Three-line votes: This would mean things like the throne speech and federal budget. They  would be confidence matters with all Liberal MPs expected to back the party.
• Two-line votes: Would include the vast majority of government bills, would see cabinet members and some parliamentary secretaries bound by party discipline, with other MPs free to vote as they choose.
• One-line votes: Truly free votes for everybody, including cabinet members, but they probably be very uncommon.

Under the new system, cabinet ministers would have to consult more widely and involve ordinary MPs more deeply in the decision-making process to get bills passed.

"Achieving parliamentary consensus will be an exercise in coalition building," the document said.

In a letter tabled with the plan, Martin described it as "critical to providing Canadians with more responsive and more effective government."

The initiative will create an independent ethics commissioner who will report to Parliament. The regime of Jean Chretien had an ethics counsellor for cabinet ministers who was appointed by the prime minister.

Reaction from Opposition politicians was cool. Loyola Hearn, house leader of the Conservatives, said the move was all about process and wouldn't make any difference to ordinary Canadians.

© CTV