Tories using public money to pay ‘shadow MP,’ says Liberal Irwin Cotler

[CHIMO]

MONTREAL—The Conservative government is using public money to pay a “shadow MP” in a partisan campaign targeting a coveted Montreal riding held by Irwin Cotler, the Liberal MP fears.

For weeks, Cotler has been decrying a phone-call blitz organized by Conservatives, during which constituents of his Mount Royal riding were told he was about to resign.

Now he’s denouncing the Tories’ hiring — as an employee of the Government of Canada — the man he defeated as a candidate in the last election.

The governing party, which campaigned on a promise to tighten federal spending and balance the budget, is accused of employing a similar tactic in other parts of the country.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1098049--tories-using-public-money-to-pay-shadow-mp-says-liberal-irwin-cotler