Leslie says jilted Tories retaliating with attacks over moving bill

MONTREAL – Andrew Leslie says the Conservatives wooed him when he retired from the military and are now retaliating because he chose to join the Liberals instead.

The retired general has been under attack for the past week over the revelation that he billed taxpayers $72,000 to move house.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson has called the tab “grossly excessive,” especially since Leslie moved only a few blocks away from his old home in Ottawa.

But Leslie says all veterans who’ve served more than 20 years are entitled to have one last move paid for by National Defence under a policy that hasn’t been changed during the Conservatives’ eight years in power.

So, he says, the policy Nicholson has condemned is actually his own.

Leslie is a being showcased as one of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s star recruits at the party’s convention in Montreal.