Serge LeClerc, who represents Saskatoon Northwest, strongly denies that he made comments attributed to him on an audio recording sent anonymously to CBC. (CBC)

A Saskatoon government MLA says he's the victim of an elaborate smear campaign — one that involves allegations of illegal drug use and sex with men.

"I don't know what's going on here, other than I feel like I'm being set up," Serge LeClerc said Friday.

LeClerc, who represents the constituency of Saskatoon Northwest, vehemently denied that he made comments about sex and drugs on a series of audio recordings sent anonymously to CBC.

He said he plans to take a drug test to show he's telling the truth.

A government spokesperson said later in the day that LeClerc has removed himself from the Saskatchewan Party caucus until he can clear his name.

Reg Downs, the special adviser to Premier Brad Wall, has asked CBC to turn over a copy of the recordings so they can be taken to the police to see if the audio has been doctored.

CBC received the recordings Friday in a package accompanied by a letter from someone purporting to have repeatedly communicated with LeClerc. The package also contained more than 60 pages of alleged transcripts of internet chats between two men, one of them identified as "Serge."

LeClerc listened to the audio recording and said while the voice sounds "a lot" like him, it's filled with things he never said.

"I don't have sex with gay men, and I don't do cocaine, and this is not me," LeClerc said. He also said he doesn't use marijuana, either.

At one point on the recording, a voice is heard to say, "I had one guy come over with a little coke a few weeks ago and had great sex. He was one of the ones I weeded out, not because of the coke, just because of compatibility."

In another part of the recording, the voice refers to a visit from another male.

"I had a guy over that brought some weed over and we smoked up," the voice says.

The transcripts allege many of the comments were made in the spring of 2009 when the legislature was in session.

LeClerc noted that there are details about his life contained in the material that are correct, but that doesn't prove anything. He's a public figure, he said, and such information is readily available on websites and his Facebook page.

On his website, LeClerc has described himself as a former drug addict, gang leader and one of Canada's most-feared criminals who spent 21 years in prisons before turning over a new leaf. He was granted a pardon by the National Parole Board in February 2000.

In recent years, he has worked as the director of an addictions treatment centre in Saskatoon.

He often makes appearances as a motivational speaker, telling audiences that his pardon recognizes how much his life has changed. On Friday, he gave presentations at two schools in Swift Current.

geoff.leo@cbc.ca