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OTTAWA — Stephen Harper said Tuesday that it was inappropriate for Justin Trudeau to take money from charities, but refused to address claims that his taxpayer-funded office distributed documents to the media about the story.

An Ontario newspaper revealed that the Prime Minister’s Office supplied it with documents purporting to show that three organizations that contracted Trudeau to speak at events in 2006 and 2007 ended up losing money.

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The Barrie Advance said the PMO instructed it to attribute the information, which includes invoices and emails from Georgian College, the University of College and a Chatham-Kent business group, to a “source” rather than saying it came from the PMO.

Other newspapers and media outlets have since reported receiving the same documents under the same conditions.

Trudeau was first elected to Parliament in October 2008. Earlier this year he became federal Liberal leader.