Clement coming back this month as independent MP

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — Disgraced independent MP Tony Clement is on the comeback within weeks.

Tony Clement, seen here with his wife Lynne Golding, says he will return to the House of Commons in January.

The former Parry Sound-Muskoka Tory member of Parliament plans to be back in new House of Commons soon, according to the CBC Friday.

The reporter Catherine Cullens that he will back later this month.

“I plan to be in Ottawa,” he said in a brief email exchange.

Meanwhile, the RCMP tells CBC News that their investigation into the extortion allegation is still underway.

Clement was kicked out of the Conservative caucus in early November after a sexting scandal, in which he said he was being extorted after sending personal pictures of himself to women.

He has kept a very low profile since and his constituency office says he has been holding private consultations with local Tories and voters in a bid to save his seat and political life.

He said after his downfall that he would seek help his behaviour.

With a national general election this October, it remains to be seen whether he will run again or if PS-Muskoka Tories will have him.

And if they do, would leader Scheer Andrew Scheer sign his nomination papers.

Some in Muskoka have already called for Clement to step down immediately, including one hastily-formed group of women voters.

Clement sent photos online to women, including creepy ones like this of him in the snow.

According to the CBC post late Friday afternoon, returning as an independent MP means he will no longer participate in committees — including the high-profile national security and intelligence committee of parliamentarians. The sexting incident fuelled questions about whether Clement was specifically targeted because of his role on the national security and intelligence committee.

Clement’s fall from political grace, where he was a major player in the previous government as key cabinet minister in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s redefining of Canada and where he was a media darling for his social media savvy, was the butt of many political jokes.

On the CBC New Year’s Eve he was mocked as one of the top stories of the year by the Canadian Air Farce again.