A Liberal MP says an organized campaign to undermine him is costing taxpayers money.For weeks, Irwin Cotler has been lamenting the so-called phantom phone calls organized by Conservatives, in which his Montreal riding constituents are told he's about to resign.
Now he's denouncing the Tories for hiring – as an employee of the Government of Canada – a man he calls a “shadow MP.”
He says the Tory candidate he defeated in the last election, now employed in the office of Heritage Minister James Moore, is performing the duties of a member of Parliament.
The veteran Liberal says Saulie Zajdel is offering to help municipal politicians in his Montreal riding secure federal grants and services.
“We have had information conveyed to us that, in fact, he has had meetings with mayors and councillors in this riding, in which he has held out to them that he, in the course of his work, can confer a benefit upon them,” Mr. Cotler told reporters Tuesday.
“What has he been hired to do and what is he, in fact, doing? ... The question is whether a defeated candidate seeks to perform the duties of an MP, as a kind of shadow MP on the public purse.”
Mr. Zajdel, a former city councillor, narrowly lost to Mr. Cotler in the last election and is expected to take another run for the riding.
The federal government won't comment when asked about Mr. Zajdel, including what his job is and what he's paid.
A spokesman says the government does not comment on internal staffing issues.
The Tories have high hopes of eventually winning Mount Royal riding, which was once part of Pierre Trudeau's constituency. A victory there would give the party their first Montreal seat in a quarter-century.
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Source: Globe&Mail
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