Pat Martin may disprove the adage that all politicians are liars.

The member of the Canadian parliament representing Winnipeg admitted he fled from the chambers Thursday during a vote because his underwear was too tight.

His absence was in dispute when Conservative MP Royal Galipeau questioned whether Martin’s vote in a procedural matter was valid because he left, the CBC reports.

In front of the entire body, deputy speaker Joe Comartin asked Martin why he left the chamber.

“I can blame it on a sale that was down at the Hudson’s Bay – they had mens underwear on for half price. I bought a bunch that was clearly too small for me and I find it difficult to sit for any length of time,” he said.

“I apologize if it was necessary for me to leave my seat briefly, but I did not mean to forfeit my right to vote.”

A visably befuddled Comartin then had to rule on whether Martin’s vote counted.

“How do I deal with that,” the Comartin could be heard asking a parliamentarian.

“Let me try to deal with this with at least some seriousness, we all understand that we have to be in our seats at the time the motion is read … the member for Winnipeg Centre was in his seat at that time. He did step out of his chair for a very short time and was directed by me to sit down again,” the deputy speaker said.

“I didn’t understand the explanation at the time, that he subsequently gave … can’t say I really understand it at this point.”

After the incident, Martin expanded on his reason for purchasing the too-tight skivvies.

“It is a matter of civic pride for Winnipeggers that nobody pays full price for anything, 50% off is like cat-nip to a Winnipegger,” Martin said, according to the Toronto Sun.

“I went to both stores and cleaned them out, it was a great sale,” admitting he neglected to look at the size.