Patrick Brown’s office misled the Toronto Star about compensation to a former MPP who quit his seat for the Progressive Conservative leader, imposing a gag order at a time when the secret contract could make the Tories look bad, internal emails show.

Documents obtained by the Star reveal Conservative officials were scrambling after Garfield Dunlop stepped down in Simcoe North so the new PC leader could run in a byelection on Sept. 3, 2015.

Mindful the governing Liberals were under investigation for allegations of bribery, senior party officials were emailing about how to keep under wraps potentially embarrassing details of how the Tories compensated Dunlop.

In one email, a key Brown aide overruled a lawyer from the party who suggested full disclosure, telling him that she had already denied any payments and intended to feign ignorance if asked again.

She also ordered all other staff and PC activists to abide by her edict.

The circumstances surrounding Dunlop’s departure are in the headlines again because of the Sudbury byelection bribery charges against Patricia Sorbara, Premier Kathleen Wynne’s former deputy chief of staff.

When the Tories hammer the Liberals on the Sorbara matter in the legislature’s daily question period, the government counters by pointing to how the PC leader secured his Orillia-area seat.

Last year, Brown publicly said Dunlop — who earned $129,000 in 2014 as an MPP and vice-chair of a legislative committee — was serving as his part-time volunteer education adviser and received no compensation for giving up the riding.

In an emailed statement Monday, his office reiterated that “no employment arrangements were either promised or offered at the time, nor at any time before he resigned his seat on Aug. 1, 2015, nor at any time before the byelection was held on Sept. 3, 2015.”

“The only arrangement was for him to stay on as a part-time volunteer adviser and to assist with transition, specifically on the education file. Mr. Dunlop’s initial performance in that role, combined with his performance helping (again as a volunteer) in the Simcoe North byelection, suggested that he had more to contribute to the party.”

But behind the scenes last fall, staff in the leader’s office appeared to be trying to figure out a response when Star reporter Richard J. Brennan was pressing them with questions about how much the former MPP was being paid.

“The leader has spoken to the Toronto Star about Garfield advising them that Garfield will be working with the party in the near future. That he has not received compensation this far,” wrote Tamara Macgregor, Brown’s director of communications, on Sept. 30, 2015.

“I would ask that no one speaks to them. We do not comment on internal party matters,” continued Macgregor in an email to other top Tory officials.

A day earlier, senior Conservative strategist Mike Richmond expressed concern about claiming Dunlop wasn’t being paid.

“Tamara informed me this morning that she told Brennan that Garfield is a volunteer. Brennan told her that he knows we are paying Garfield and that Garfield is hiding from him,” wrote Richmond, a lawyer with McMillan LLP, to top PC insiders, including Brown and Macgregor.

“We cannot continue to look like we are hiding something, and we cannot continue to call Garf a volunteer since it is no longer true. The truth is completely legit and we have nothing to be ashamed of. We need to correct the record or we look like we are lying,” wrote Richmond.

“I have looked into your questions and found out that in the past few days, Garfield has in fact received a contract from the party. He has not been paid anything, but he will be.”

In the same email chain, Macgregor told her colleagues she would not reveal to Brennan, whose nickname is “Badger,” that Dunlop was on the Conservative payroll.

“There have been conflicting things discussed. I will not tell Badger there is a contract. If we say we don’t discuss internal HR matters then we do not discuss. Period.” she wrote.

“No more emails please. I’m serious.”

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Richmond had wanted Brown’s office to come clean with the journalist — counsel that was apparently ignored.

In a separate email on Sept. 11, 2015 — eight days after Brown won the Simcoe North byelection — the lawyer had advised senior Tories that “as of Monday, Garfield will be coming on board as a full-time adviser to the party, on contract with the PC Ontario Fund.”

“FYI, his change in status from part-time volunteer to full-time contractor is not public. It is not a secret but there is no reason to broadcast it either,” wrote Richmond, noting Brown was in the know about Dunlop’s contract.

On Monday, the PC leader’s office said the “more comprehensive mandate was discussed and a more permanent arrangement was negotiated between Mr. Dunlop and the party later in September.”

Dunlop did not return messages left by the Star.

“By Sept. 29, 2015, Garfield Dunlop’s new arrangements with the party had been finalized but he had not yet started to be paid. The Toronto Star was advised of the change in status on Sept. 30, 2015, though specific employment details were not provided to the Toronto Star.”

The Star has no record of being advised of a change in status.

Since Dunlop resigned on July 22, 2015, Brown has maintained there was no quid pro quo.

Last Thursday, Brown said “it was a number of months after I had been elected MPP that he was asked to take on an additional workload.”

The PC leader also insisted there is no similarity between the Liberals’ Sudbury byelection debacle and the Simcoe North situation.

In Sudbury, Sorbara, who has denied any wrongdoing, was charged with bribery under the Election Act for allegedly offering then New Democrat MP Glenn Thibeault — now Ontario’s energy minister — a job in exchange for running for the Liberals in the byelection on Feb. 5, 2015.

“Listen, we have a case where the OPP have laid charges for an alleged bribe,” said Brown. “And we have a case where someone, who was planning to retire, retired after 25 years of public service. You can’t even compare … not even remotely.”

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