A member of Parliament from Saskatoon who suggested judges are too activist and play God with the law has resigned as chairman of the Commons' aboriginal affairs committee.

But in his resignation letter, Maurice Vellacott does not cite his remarks as his reason for stepping down, blaming instead the Liberals' "reckless partisan nature" on the committee.

Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott, shown in the Commons, resigned before the introduction of a Liberal motion that sought to remove him as chair of the aboriginal affairs committee.
(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

"They seem to think that they have some divine right to govern and it is greatly upsetting to them when the public judges otherwise," he writes.

"Unfortunately, in this case, I fear that their agenda of bitter partisanship will submerge aboriginal issues and make it extremely difficult to accomplish anything productive on behalf of our aboriginal brothers and sisters in this committee in this parliament."

While he commends the contributions of two Bloc MPs, he said he is submitting his resignation because "the tone of the committee has been so poisoned by the tactic" of Liberal MP Anita Neville.

Vellacott's resignation comes as a Liberal motion was to be introduced Wednesday to remove him as chairman. It apparently had support from the New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had rejected calls for the resignation of Vellacott, saying he had withdrawn some of his comments and that his remarks did not represent the views of the government.

The controversy surrounds comments Vellacott made to CBC-TV on the weekend. 

"I don't think it is the role of the judge…to actually figure to play the position of God," he said.

He then singled out Beverley McLachlin, the chief justice of Canada.

The Tory MP claimed McLachlin "herself said actually when they step into this role that suddenly there's some kind of mystical power that comes over them, which everything that they've ever decreed is not to be questioned."

In a rare response, the chief justice denied through a spokeswoman she said anything like that.

Vellacott issued an apology on Monday on his website.

"I may have given the impression that in that speech she expressly said that she had god-like powers.

"I acknowledge that Ms. McLachlin did not literally use those words. I regret the misunderstanding that was created. I extend my apologies to her in this regard.''

Vellacott's appointment had caused concern among aboriginal groups. Two years ago, he angered native groups in Saskatchewan when he defended two Saskatoon police officers convicted of dropping a native man on the outskirts of the city on a freezing night.