Tory MP Brad Trost ready to go 'all the way' in legal fight with Conservative Party

Conservative MP Brad Trost says his supporters have amassed tens of thousands of dollars to help him fight a potentially lengthy court battleagainst his own party.

And just how far is the Saskatchewan MPwilling to take that legal fight?

"All the way,"Trostsaid in an interview with CBCNews. He acknowledgedthat could include a series of appeals which could, in theory, wind its way throughthe court for years.

Trostsaid he is the victim of a "deliberate smear" after the party slapped his leadership campaign with a $50,000 fine for leaking the Conservative membership list to the National Firearms Association, agun owners rights group.

Divisions within the party are especially sensitive for the Conservatives, who spent years working to unite the right after the Progressive Conservative-Reform split. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer won last May's vote in large part by promising to maintain party unity.

Trost, who finished fourth in thatleadership race, insistedhis gripe is not withScheer, but with "factions inside the party" who are working against him.

"Look, if you didn't do anything wrong, you fight it tooth and nail. You don't let someone do this. And in politics, at the end of the day, what you have is your reputation and really nothing more."

A spokesmanfor the Conservatives saidTrostshould use the party's own appeals process to deal with the disputerather than "bogging down" the court system.

Fight over leaked list

The Conservative Party uses a practice known as "salting" its membership list, meaning each leadership campaign received a slightly different copy of the list to allow officialsto trace potential leaks.

Trost denies that he or anyone from the campaign leaked the list. He saideven if the salted list points to his campaign, it could have just as easily been leaked by someone at party headquarters who had access to all theversions of the list.

Trostfirst launched legal proceedings against the party in September, and saidhe hoped the issues would be quickly resolved. He also said the party has not been forthcoming with the evidence his lawyers have requested and he's now settling in for a much longer legal fight.

Supporters have pledged some $50,000 towardlegal fees,Trost said, with pledges of roughly another $50,000 if the legal fight continues.

(Trost said the money is separate from funds he has raised as a leadership candidate and an MP. Donations are not tax deductible and he said the financial matters are being handled by bluecommittee.org. The web site for the group lists Trost's former campaign manager as one of its "consultants.")

The Saskatchewan MP said it's "ironic" he may wind up spending more on legal fees than the cost of the fine itself, but insists it's important to clear his name.

'Unnecessary litigation'

Conservative spokesman Cory Hannsaid in a statement that the party's rules around the leadership vote are clear and that there is an appeals process for campaigns to use if they feel a ruling is unfair.

"Since day one, the party has asked Mr. Trost and his team to abide by the rules and process they agreed to, and use the appropriate appeals process instead of bogging down our court systemand costing the party and our donors legal fees due to unnecessary litigation."

"We're continuing to invite the Trost campaign to utilize the appropriate process that we built-in for such a matter, and our appeals committee remains ready to hear any appeal if and when that process finally gets used," said Hann.

Trostsaid he believes those within the party who dislike him have also encouraged another politicianto challenge Trost for the Conservative nomination in his riding of SaskatoonUniversity.

Challenging Trost

Two challengers have emerged. Local businessman Brad RedekoppandMLA and former speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature, Corey Tochor. It's about that second challenger that Trosthas questions.

"Was Corey recruited to run against me by people inside the party who don't like me? Yes. Of that I'm fairly certain."

Tochorrejects the suggestion.

"Members from SaskatoonUniversity, the grassroots, have encouraged me to run. Whatever conspiracy theory that he would like to think up, there's more than one person who is challenging him, so it's not that I'm the sole person that thought that renewal and fresh start is what's needed," he told CBCNews.

The Conservative Party insists its nominations are fair and open.

"In order for a potential candidate to challenge the nomination in a Conservative-held seat, there was a clearly laid-out set of requirements that was communicated with caucus and our membership," said Hann.

"Specifically in SaskatoonUniversity, two candidates adhered to those rules, met the requirements, and a nomination will be scheduled at a future date for the riding."

Trost said he'll be skipping his party's upcoming caucus meeting in Victoria on Jan. 24 and 25 in order to focus on his nomination fight.

If he does win that fight, Trost acknowledges that he may find himself in the unique position of representing a party in the next election, while simultaneously fighting that party in the courts.