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Szabo also alleges the party told Desjardins she had to drop Szabo as her official agent or face expulsion from the race. He says he agreed to step down so that Desjardins could continue.

Broadhurst says that Szabo had been contacting members signed up in the riding and challenging them about the legitimacy of their membership, which intimidated some, particularly new Canadians who had joined the party for the first time.

“Some of them thought they were in trouble with the government,” Broadhurst said. He also says Szabo circulated a letter to about 600 people in the riding challenging their memberships.

Although Desjardins had been previously approved to seek the nomination, the Szabo letter made her candidacy an “open issue,” so she “disassociated her campaign from him,” Broadhurst said.

After Spengemann won the nomination by 19 votes, Szabo says he took his concerns to the Peel Regional Police in October and claims the criminal investigations unit is still looking into his allegations.

He says Peel police encouraged him to forward his complaints toCôté, whose investigation of Szabo’s complaints about spending culminated in the compliance agreement, published on Friday.

The sanction contrasts with that of Tory MP Dean Del Mastro, who earlier this year was convicted of overspending on his 2008 election campaign. Del Mastro was sentenced to one month in jail but is appealing the conviction and sentence. It is unclear if Del Mastro, who has consistently denied the overspending charge, was offered an opportunity to enter into a compliance agreement.

The Liberals are standing by Spengemann, saying he co-operated fully with Côté’s investigation and entered willingly into the compliance agreement.

Szabo was first elected as MP in 1993 and served as chair of the House of Commons ethics committee. He lost in the 2011 to Conservative Stella Ambler.

Spengemann, a law professor and charity board member, is running against Ambler and New Democrat Eric Guerbilsky.