January 23, 2014 - 10:02 AM
SASKATOON - A former Liberal party volunteer and a Conservative MP have buried the hatchet over the volunteer's slandering of the politician on live television.
George Laliberte says he apologizes for calling into a debate in 2006 and asking Saskatoon MP Maurice Vellacott if he had been kicked out of a church for sexually assaulting the secretary.
Vellacott had never worked out of that church and had never been accused of sexual assault.
Laliberte, who was ordered by a court to pay Vellacott $5,000 for slander, placed the call from the committee rooms of a Liberal candidate.
Laliberte is now suing his former lawyers and law firm, McKercher LLP, for $500,000, alleging they tried to protect the Liberal party while sacrificing him and his reputation.
Vellacott and Laliberte say in a joint statement that they disapprove of the quote — "dirty politics" — that characterized the incident.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014