Conservatives are up in arms over reports that the Prime Minister's former Principal Secretary Gerald Butts is back in the fold.

He resigned at the height of the SNC-Lavalin scandal in February, but is back with the Liberals where he's expected to have a big role in getting Justin Trudeau back into office.

Foothills MP John Barlow is just left shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's tough for Justin Trudeau to extricate himself from his best friend and the person who's been the architect of his platform. But, you know it's tough for the Prime Minister to extricate himself from people that are tied to the scandals and the things that have tarnished his mandate."

Barlow says this doesn't look good on Trudeau.

"Those people around Justin Trudeau who orchestrated the SNC-Lavalin scandal, perhaps the Mark Norman issue, are all still there. But those who spoke out about it, including Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott are now having to run as independents in the next election."

Barlow says heading into October's election, the move will simply breathe new life into the scandal, which had cooled off in recent months.

 

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