NDP MP Pat Martin wants your help in paying his legal bills
You could call NDP MP Pat Martin the Don Cherry of Parliament.
They certainly have differing ideologies but the one thing they have common is that they speak their minds, and sometimes that gets them into trouble.
Case in point: Upon revelations about the robocall scandal in February, Martin publicly accused Racknine, a small Edmonton call centre that worked for the Tory national campaign, of being behind the automated calls that saw voters misdirected to non-existent polling locations during the May 2011 federal election.
Racknine CEO Matt Meier asked for a full-fledged apology, got it but still went ahead with a $5 million law suit suing both Martin and the NDP.
"Martin's words were defamatory, and, in the very least, carried the innuendo that Meier and/or RackNine had committed criminal activity, fraudulent activity, participated in a conspiracy, intimidation, sabotage and/or deceit," noted Racknine's statement of claim.
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Well, Pat Martin now wants your help to pay his legal bills.
The Pat Martin Legal Defence Fund has officially been launched to raise monies for Martin's legal expenses.
In June, the MP from Manitoba told the Toronto Star that he had been working to create the "trust fund" to allow people to donate to his cause without violating political financing rules.
"I'm having a trust fund set up, separate from the party and separate from my office as a Member of Parliament, and that makes it legal for people to donate," Martin said.
"It's not a tax-deductible donation of any kind. It's not a charity, nor is it a political party donation. It would simply be a contribution to my legal defence fund."
Martin said his fundraising goal was $250,000.
Here's a snippet from the fund's website, now online:
"As you know Pat is involved in a protracted lawsuit stemming from remarks he made about an Alberta company and allegations of voter suppression and election fraud by Robocalls in the 2011 general election.
The company filed a defamation lawsuit and is seeking extensive damages from both Pat and the New Democratic Party.
Pat has since apologized for these remarks and attempted to settle out of court without success. The court case is proceeding and legal expenses are mounting."
While Martin isn't directly involved with the website, he has been actively re-tweeting Tweets promoting the effort.
[ Related: Pat Martin condemns asbestos backers to face justice in hell ]