When it comes to behaving badly political couple Rahim Jaffer and Helena Guergis suffer no consequences, Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals charged today in Question Period.
Ms. Guergis, Stephen Harper’s minister of state for the status of women, was under vigorous attack for her outburst at the Charlottetown airport last month. Yesterday, it was her husband, former Edmonton Tory MP Rahim Jaffer, who was in the spotlight.
He suffered the slings and arrows of the opposition for the $500 fine he received after pleading guilty to careless driving. More serious charges against him were dropped, provoking questions about preferential treatment because of his political connections.
Today and yesterday, Manitoba Liberal MP Anita Neville led the charge: “No one in Canada should be perceived to be above the law no matter what their political connections,” she said. “There must be clear consequences for behaviour that crosses the line.”
She demanded to know why Ms. Guergis was still in cabinet after her outburst on Prince Edward Island.
“The minister bullied, belittled and berated the very people she is supposed to serve without any repercussions,” Ms. Neville charged. “Any other Canadian would have been grounded – or as the Conservative commentator Kory Teneycke put it ‘tased and then arrested.’ … When will there be consequences?”
Mr. Teneycke, former director of communications to Stephen Harper, made his comment on CTV’s Power Play last night.
Meanwhile, it was up to Transport Minister John Baird to handle the Guergis file today. He said that she had already apologized for her behaviour.
“When I grew up, I was told when a sincere apology is offered it should be accepted. That is the long-standing tradition of the House,” he said.
Former Tory MP Rahim Jaffer and former cabinet minister Helena Guergis, in a October, 2008, wedding photo. Federal Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson on Tuesday said she would not investigate allegations against Ms. Guergis that had been passed on to her by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Ms. Guergis, who was not in the House today, issued a public apology last month, saying that she was rushing to catch a flight and spoke “emotionally to some staff members.”
She reportedly referred to PEI as a “hell hole.” That didn’t sit well with PEI Liberal Wayne Easter. He was also up on his feet today calling for Ms. Guergis’ resignation, asking the Prime Minister if he condones his minister’s “outrageous insults.”
“It is now 20 days since the minister for the status of women called my province a ‘hell hole’ or worse,” Mr. Easter said. “Yet she still sits as a full member of cabinet, no sanctions whatsoever.”
He also criticized Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, who is from Prince Edward Island, for not defending her province. “What kind of message is the Prime Minister trying to send to the people of PEI?”
Again, Mr. Baird handled the answer, saying that Ms. Shea has stood up for PEI in a number of areas.
“The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is doing an outstanding job,” he said. A call-and-response series of proclamations and cheers from the government benches ensued. “She is delivering infrastructure projects. She is delivering jobs and opportunity. People of Prince Edward Island are pretty lucky to have the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.”
Amid the high political theatre, the Liberals also asked repeatedly about the Afghan detainee issue. They still want to know the breadth of the mandate being given former Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci, who is reviewing the documents relating to the controversy.
“It has been nearly a week since the government appointed Justice Iacobucci to study documents in the Afghan tortured detainees scandal, but the Conservatives have not told us about what he has been asked to do,” Mr. Ignatieff said. “... When will we see Justice Iacobucci’s written mandate? What will the mandate be, and when will he report to us about his findings?”
Precise answers were not forthcoming.
