Liberal MP Bob Rae is denying that he orchestrated a move by a group of Liberal senators to amend a crime bill in an effort to undermine Michael Ignatieff's leadership.
The bill, which passed with widespread support in the House of Commons, including Ignatieff, contains a number of tough-on-crime measures proposed by the Conservative government.
Some of the senators who proposed the amendments voted for Rae during his leadership bid, which led to speculation that Rae urged them to stall the bill.
Rae told CTV's Question Period on Sunday that allegations he supported the senators' amendments were "nonsensical."
"We're all agreed in the Liberal Party, and the whole House of Commons voted together, that it's important to be clear about what sentencing means, and that we have real transparency in sentencing," Rae said.
"It's not an issue that divides the Liberal party at all. There might be some senators that try to put forward some amendments; the Senate will deal with that. But there's absolutely no division in the Liberal party on that question."
Part of the original bill would eliminate the current two-for-one sentencing credit given to convicts who spend time in jail before their conviction.
The Senate justice committee voted to change that to time-and-a-half served, meaning convicts would get 1.5 days' credit for every day served pre-sentencing.
The amendment would also give judges discretion in awarding pre-sentencing credits, and would require an explanation for their decision.
The amendments have yet to be voted on by the full Senate, which is controlled by the Liberals, despite Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent appointments to the Upper Chamber.
Rae's role in the amendment controversy was questioned when he refused to criticize the senators, despite Ignatieff's support for the bill as it was originally worded.
Rae said Sunday that the Liberal Party must ignore the Ottawa rumour mill that has churned up stories of a rift between him and Ignatieff and get back to the business of being the official opposition.
"We need to get together, we need to be united. It's important for people to stick together and not to get rattled by the rumours and the gossip and the innuendo that fly around," he said.
"Michael and I have a very good relationship. We talk regularly, we talk on the phone all the time, we're sitting next to each other in the House of Commons. We've known each other forty years and we know what we have to do."
Rae said the Liberals must turn their focus to the issues that matter to Canadians -- such as pensions, housing, health care and the economy -- and offer "practical alternatives" to the Harper government ahead of "the next election, whenever that comes."
