Conservative leadership frontrunner Pierre Poilievre has called for the resignation of Liberal MP Marco Mendicino for lying about the justification for invoking Emergencies Act in the House of Commons.

According to an email from Poilievre’s campaign team, “Today, candidate for Prime Minister Pierre Poilievre demanded that Minister of Public Safety resign for making false statements to Canadians in the House of Commons and creating a fake excuse to invoke the emergencies act.”

Poilievre cites an instance in April when Mendicino, knowingly or otherwise, explicitly spread false information regarding the justifications used in invoking the Emergencies Act.

In late April, Mendicino claimed, “It was on the advice of law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act.”

But law enforcement disputes this.

“No, there was never a question of requesting the Emergencies Act,” RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said on May 11.

Former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly also disputed Mendicino.

“I did not make that request. I’m not aware of anybody else in the Ottawa Police Service who did,” said Sloly.

Mendicino subsequently attempted to walk back his claims, suggesting law enforcement didn’t ask for the Emergencies Act to be invoked specifically but said they wanted the powers included in it.

“The request was for the powers, which required the invocation of the Emergencies Act,” Mendicino said.

However, Poilievre isn’t buying it.

According to Poilievre, “It’s clear that Minister made false statements in the House of Commons. And it wasn’t just about something trivial. He wanted to give Trudeau cover to invoke the Emergencies Act, freeze people’s bank accounts, and trample on civil liberties.”

Poilievre then demanded that Marco Mendicino resign.

“The Minister made false statements. If he messed up, then he’s incompetent. If he lied, then he’s dishonest. Either way, he can’t keep this important job.”