Prime Minister Stephen Harper has invoked parliamentary immunity in a court case being brought against him by a Conservative nominee who stepped aside to make room for a high-profile candidate in the lead-up to the last election.
An Ontario Superior Court justice adjourned a trial that was to begin Wednesday to determine whether the agreement that saw Alan Riddell allow sponsorship whistleblower Alan Cutler run in the riding of Ottawa South.
Madame Justice Monique Metivier said Tuesday that she agreed with the Conservative party that the complexity of the case - in which Mr. Riddell's lawyer planned to raise allegations of other deals struck to create openings for Mr. Harper and Stockwell Day when they were leaders of the Canadian Alliance - would require more than the two days set aside for the trial this week.
Judge Metivier also admonished the lawyers for both sides in the increasingly acrimonious dispute for "personalizing these matters" after a testy courtroom display.
A convoluted tangle of court cases has been launched by Mr. Riddell since he quit as a candidate after what a court says was an agreement by the party to pay him for the election expenses he had incurred to that pointing time - about $50,000.
Among those court actions is a libel suit against Mr. Harper and Conservative party president Don Plett who denied there was an agreement to compensate Mr. Riddell.
Mr. Justice Denis Power, another Superior Court judge, ruled in January that the two sides have acknowledged there is an agreement in place. But the party argues that, since Mr. Riddell spoke openly about the deal, he violated the implied confidentiality of that agreement - if an agreement did indeed exist.
Mr. Riddell's lawyer, Tom Conway said he was served Monday with a notice from Mr. Harper signalling his intent to invoke parliamentary immunity in the liable case. That would mean that action cannot proceed until the government falls and an election is called - or possibly until parliament is prorogued.
Lawyers for the Conservative party, meanwhile, have appealed the decision of Judge Power who said the party must honour its deal with Mr. Riddell. And they say they will apply for a stay of proceedings in the trial to determine whether there was an implied confidentiality that was breached when Mr. Riddell went public.
"For a party like the Conservative Party of Canada that has maintained that there should be transparency and accountability in everything a political party does - they campaigned on that in the last election - why they would think it's a good idea to assert the defence that, in this particular case, the agreement was supposed to be kept secret escapes me," said Mr. Conway.
Robert Huston, who acted for the party at Tuesday's hearing, said the Conservatives want all of the matters, including a legal challenge brought by Mr. Riddell over the party's revocation of his membership, wrapped into one trial that is scheduled for next February.
If Mr. Harper is successful in invoking the privilege, however, he would be presumably be extricated from the matter.
Mr. Conway told the judge that Mr. Riddell wants the matter resolved as soon as possible because his reputation is suffering while people believe he could have broken agreements or breeched confidentiality "Mr. Riddell continues to live and practice law in this city under the cloud that the Conservative Party of Canada has created," he told the judge.
The party has not yet sorted out what it owes Mr. Riddell. Mr. Huston said that's because Mr. Riddell has failed to produce any receipts for the election expenses he claims to have incurred.
And, he said, Mr. Conway's decision to raise an alleged agreement that saw party nominee Ezra Levant who step aside so Mr. Harper could run as the Conservative candidate in Calgary Southwest in 2002, and the deal that saw former Conservative Alliance MP Jim Hart make way for Stockwell Day in the riding of Okanagan-Coquihalla in 2000, is designed "to embarrass my client and to potentially seriously embarrass other individuals that are not party to this matter."
Mr. Conway pointed out that Judge Power found it understandable that Mr. Riddell would not want to produce the receipts until the court matters had been dealt with. And he said the Conservative party has painted itself into a corner and is fearful that party witnesses who concocted the deals will be perceived as "cigar-smoking backroom boys."
Conservative Party spokesman Ryan Sparrow said Mr. Harper's decision to invoke parliamentary immunity is not unprecedented.
"It is well-known that Mr. Riddell has launched several lawsuits against the Conservative Party and Party officials, including Mr. Harper. The Party and its officials are defending themselves against these lawsuits. The rules of privilege are well-known and are available to all [members of Parliament] Mr. Harper is not the first Prime Minister to claim privilege. Mr. Chrétien did in a 2001 case in PEI, and the 2003 Samson Indian Nation case."
Mr. Riddell said he continues to be a loyal Conservative and that he wishes all of these matters had been resolved confidentially, amicably and inexpensively.
He is requesting court costs from the party of about $250,000.
"It's become a very public and expensive and, for me, a very embarrassing proceeding," said Mr. Riddell. "I very much regret that it's come to that."