Two men arrested after embattled MP Emerson's office vandalized [!-- END HEADLINE --]<=ynmain>[!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --]<=storybody>[DIV class=storyhdr][EM class=timedate]Mon Mar 13, 8:20 PM ET[/i]
[DIV class=spacer][/DIV][/DIV]VANCOUVER (CP) - Two men are in custody facing mischief charges after Vancouver police caught protesters dumping manure outside embattled MP David Emerson's constituency office early Monday.
Officers also noticed protest signs and graffiti spray on the building. The international trade minister has been under fire from some Vancouver-Kingsway residents over his decision to switch parties after the Jan. 23 federal election.
Protests outside Emerson's office have become a regular occurrence since he decided to cross the floor from the Liberals to take a cabinet position with Stephen Harper's Conservative government within weeks of the election.
Emerson had been minister of industry in Paul Martin's Liberal government during his first term as an MP.
The arrests are not the first since the calls for Emerson to resign and face a byelection in the riding began after his defection.
Kevin Chalmers, a high-ranking Emerson Liberal campaign coordinator and three others were arrested Feb. 24 when they staged a sit-in at the minister's office.
They were charged with assault by trespass for refusing to leave Emerson's office.
Chalmers is now heading a campaign to force Emerson's resignation.
Last week, Emerson was heckled at a sod turning ceremony for Vancouver's Olympic village.
Chalmers managed to sneak into the ceremony and demanded Emerson meet with protesters. The minister declined.
Emerson later called Chalmers a "partisan zealot" who "believes that political parties should be more important to a member of Parliament than the people that you represent."
Federal Ethics Commissioner Howard Shapiro is investigating Prime Minister Harper's decision to lure Emerson into his cabinet.
Emerson says he's communicated with Shapiro but won't say if he'll co-operate further, or whether he'll step down if the commissioner rules against his defection.
As a Liberal, Emerson received 43.5 per cent of the vote while Conservative candidate Kanman Wong tallied only 18.8 per cent of the vote.
Former New Democrat MP Ian Waddell garnered 33.5 per cent of the vote.
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