MONTREAL - The mayor of Montreal is demanding an apology and retraction of comments made by a prominent anti-corruption whistleblower.

Jacques Duchesneau, a former city police chief and civil servant who testified recently at the province's corruption inquiry, made the remarks in an interview with the Montreal Gazette.

Duchesneau told the newspaper that he wouldn't feel confident buying a used bicycle from the mayor -- and also suggested that he should "go to hell."

The dispute has erupted in the wake of Duchesneau's testimony at the inquiry, where he said he tried talking to the mayor in 2009 about corruption at city hall.

Mayor Tremblay denied having discussed that topic. Now, after Duchesneau blasted him in the newspaper interview, he's calling the latest remarks unacceptable and won't say whether he might sue over them.

He is also challenging Duchesneau to provide specific names and details to back up the explosive claims he made while testifying -- namely that 70 per cent of the money raised by Quebec political parties is collected illegally.