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When Irwin Cotler became Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Mount Royal in November 1999, he wasn’t planning to stay long. Fifteen years later, as the renowned human rights lawyer prepares to say goodbye, he talks to Postmedia News’ Lee Berthiaume about his time in Ottawa and his plans for the future.

On not running for re-election next year

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Mr. Cotler, 74, first elected in a by-election, describes himself as an “accidental parliamentarian” who never had any intention of making a career in politics. “I came for one year,” he says. “I’m still here.” He only reluctantly ran for re-election in 2011, and knew then it would be the last time. “I had good friends in caucus, Ken Dryden and others. They spoke with me and said if I didn’t run, the Conservatives would use the fact that I wasn’t running and say, ‘You see, even Cotler can’t stand the Liberals.’ ”

On the state of Parliament

“When I was first elected, there was a competition of ideas and policies, but I thought the tone was more civil than now,” he says. “The tone has become more demeaning, the responses more mocking, the collaboration across party lines less present.” He is particularly critical of the Conservative government’s use of omnibus bills and its practice of limiting debate on legislation. Yet he believes the pendulum will swing back toward a more cordial Parliament: “As I go across the country, I feel that things that were not resonating in 2011 are beginning to resonate. People are saying, ‘We don’t want this.’ ”