Jean Pelletier, accusing Paul Martin's government of "relentlessly" trying to fire him as chairman of VIA Rail's board of directors, protested the "partisan" action by filing two separate motions in Federal Court on Monday.

Pelletier, who served as chief of staff to Jean Chretien during most of his time as prime minister, was initially dismissed from the Crown corporation's board in March 2004.

The Martin government took the action after Pelletier made belittling remarks about Myriam Bedard, a two-time Olympic medalist and former Via staffer who had levelled a series of damaging allegations about the operations of the rail company.

In November, a Federal Court judge overturned the dismissal, saying Pelletier was fired out of the blue, with no chance to defend himself. The government then fired Pelletier again in December, saying this time it had followed proper notification procedure.

Now Pelletier is seeking to invalidate his firing for a second time with a new motion in Federal Court. He is also asking the court's appeal division to throw out an appeal filed by the government of the original ruling in November.

"Any impartial decision maker would realize that the incident concerning Ms. Bedard could not actually serve as reason for dismissal," Pelletier said in a news release Monday.

"It consists of relentless hounding on the part of the government, dictated by partisan politics in a campaign period, rather than facts and equality."

Pelletier said it was a matter that should have ended with a simple explanation, instead of having to resort the courts.

Pelletier, the former mayor of Quebec City, has increased by $1 million the amount he is seeking in moral damages from the government, to $3.7 million.

His lawyer, Suzanne Cote, told The Canadian Press the increase was justified by Ottawa's "abusive and malicious" actions.

The federal Justice Department refused to comment on Pelletier's legal manoeuvres.

Pelletier was harshly criticized in Justice John Gomery's November report for failing to provide adequate oversight to the federal sponsorship program during his time as Chretien's chief of staff.

His original termination from Via came amid the first rumblings of the sponsorship scandal, when Martin decided to clean house among high-level Chretien appointees tainted by the affair.

Michel Vennat, president of the Business Development Bank of Canada, and Marc LeFrancois, president of VIA Rail, were fired along with Pelletier, prompting some to suggest that it was a Martin purge of Chretienites. Martin denied he was targeting any specific group.

The VIA chairman's job was an appointment formally made by the cabinet. Normally, such appointees serve "at pleasure," meaning they can be fired without the kind of cause normally required to discharge an employee.