Irene Mathyssen, a parliament member from the liberal New Democratic Party, attacked Conservative Party member James Moore, charging that he had been surfing for "soft porn" on his laptop while in the House of Commons.
Mathyssen called it "Playboy-type stuff," describing the picture of a brunette woman wearing a "skimpy negligee kind of thing."
Mathyssen expanded her attack to say that Moore's alleged online dalliance indicated a lack of respect for women from Canada's leading conservative party.
But Moore later explained that the scantily clad woman in the picture was his girlfriend. Mathyssen apologized, but Moore remained indignant.
"This was a baseless personal attack, and I am disappointed she resorted to such an outrageous tactic to score a headline," Moore said in a statement last night on his website.
The Canadian House of Commons has been equipped with wireless Internet access since December 2004. The government places no restrictions on what websites politicians may visit.
