QUEBEC - NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is again denying an assertion that he received an offer of $180,000 to join the Conservatives as an environmental adviser in 2007.
Mulcair reiterated today he was involved in discussions with the Tories but that he put an end to the talks when he came to the conclusion they had no intention of respecting Canada's environmental commitments.
A report published online by Maclean's magazine says the discussions were the first step in securing Mulcair to run as a Conservative candidate in 2008 but the negotiations allegedly broke down over money, with Mulcair seeking nearly double what the Prime Minister's Office offered.
Dimitri Soudas, who was Prime Minister Stephen Harper's press secretary at the time, told Maclean's he was authorized to offer up to $180,000 a year but that Mulcair wanted $300,000.
Soudas says after he said he couldn't go higher than $180,000, he never heard from Mulcair again.
Speaking in Quebec City today after meeting with Premier Philippe Couillard, Mulcair said he never met with Soudas and that the report of the $180,000 offer is "absolutely false."
