OTTAWA -- Stephen Harper's deputy chief of staff denies he distorted Conservative policy in a bid to woo Quebec voters by saying his party would respect the Kyoto accord and might not revisit same-sex marriage if it forms the next government.

Lawrence Cannon, the former Quebec provincial Liberal cabinet minister who is the Conservative candidate in the west Quebec riding of Pontiac, seemed to contradict Mr. Harper when he spoke last week to Le Devoir, a French-language newspaper in Montreal.

Politicians are often accused of saying one thing in French and another in English in an attempt to appeal to different groups of voters. And public opinion polls have suggested that support for both same-sex marriage and the Kyoto accord are higher in Quebec than in other parts of Canada. But Mr. Cannon said his statements did not contradict those of his leader.

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