Canadian Cabinet Minister Faces RCMP Probe

Guergis faces RCMP probe

Minister resigns from cabinet saying past 9 months a 'very difficult time'

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has asked former cabinet minister Helena Guergis to sit outside the Conservative caucus while the RCMP investigates "serious" allegations over her conduct
In an email sent Friday before the prime minister held a news conference in Ottawa, Guergis announced she had resigned as minister of state for the status of women, ending her tumultuous tenure in Harper's cabinet. www.cbc.ca...

Well now...in the wake of her own very public melt-down at a PEI airport over security checks, her staff and family writing letters of praise to local media without actually acknowledging their connection to Guergis...
Not to mention her husband...an ex-MP acting as an unregistered lobbyist...influence peddling...hookers...AND getting busted for DUI and coc aine...with those charges being dropped in a manner that can only be described as dodgy...

I can only wonder what new developments led her to resign under an RCMP investigation.

Steve? We're waiting...

You non Canadians? Just talk among yourselves for a bit while we tear this one apart.


self edit to add citation

[edit on 9-4-2010 by JohnnyCanuck]

You forgot to mention the cost of clothes, handbags and shoes tacked onto her campaign expense account. Well, Imelda Marcos she isn't and I doubt that was what broke that camel's back. The truth of what finally led to this has got to one juicy bit of news.

The pundits are gonna have a good chuckle over the next few weeks, but, one thing for sure... this was about as inevitable as a raft just above the Niagara Gorge during the spring floods.

added (and edited) linky poo

[edit on 9/4/10 by masqua]

Blah blah blah...Canadian politics...blah blah...

This is the way most Canadians remember Canadian politics which in my very humble opinion are now the MOST interesting politics on earth.

WAKE UP Canadians...Prime Minister Harper is in the middle of a Canadian Christian Conservative Revolution (The NEW CCR...and you heard that from the beak of Whiteraven) while you were all out at the bar last night.

lol

Originally posted by whiteraven
WAKE UP Canadians...Prime Minister Harper is in the middle of a Canadian Christian Conservative Revolution

Oh... tell me about it! We have one 'inner cabinet' minister who stated that the world is 6k years old. Is there a C-Street in Calgary?

Seems like Helen G. and her fun-loving husband have fallen off the 'forgiveness wagon'.

reply to post by masqua


i wonder if she got gun shy after this little thing.

VERNON -- A second Okanagan man has been arrested in connection with a massive coc aine seizure in Saskatchewan following a search of properties in the North Okanagan.

Back on March 26th, Swift Current RCMP found 151 kilograms of coc aine in the trunk of a car. The driver, 23-year-old Troy Swanson from Vernon, was originally pulled over for speeding.

Swanson has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. His April 7th court appearance in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, has been adjourned until April 14, 2010.

Following his arrest, police found links to three Vernon residences and simultaneously executed search warrants Wednesday.

Another 23-year-old man was arrested and other property seized, including three firearms. He appeared before a Justice of Peace on April 7th and has been remanded into custody and will be transport to Swift Current, Saskatchewan where he will remain in custody until his bail hearing.

Police say organized crime was involved. RCMP in three provinces, BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan were involved in the extensive drug bust.

www.vancouversun.com... aine+seizure/2783995/story.html


The trail of Bolivian marching Powder leads to Parliament Hill!

Woops...did I just say that.

Really....blow and power go hand in hand so no surprise but in my opinion this kind of powder trail is explosive.

Scary as it gets.

reply to post by whiteraven


Okanagan?

Oh, my... that IS a juicy revelation, isn't it?

Now, who's riding would that be in?

But, we shouldn't be too hasty pinning anything on Stockwell. We all know how good he looks wearing a wetsuit on a Seadoo.

reply to post by masqua


Just speculation.

But you gotta wonder and THAT is why this arm chair observer credits Steven Harper for my new love of Canada and all things Canadian when it comes to politics.

You go Harp.

this said with this hour has 22 minutes type of tone...



[edit on 9-4-2010 by whiteraven]

Originally posted by masqua
The pundits are gonna have a good chuckle over the next few weeks, but, one thing for sure... this was about as inevitable as a raft just above the Niagara Gorge during the spring floods.

Latest report suggests some irregularities with the financing of her $800,000 Ottawa home...now I know prices are steep up Bytown way, but that must be some nice crib.

One more thing for sure...there are some folks down at the airport in Charlottetown hoisting a few ales tonight. And giggling.

Yes I 've always suspected quite a lot of drugs linked to the political will of this country, and the Okanagan, the most beautiful place on earth, has long had a drug presence and very mason one running realtors, and the establishment there, not to mention altairs and signs of ritual occult. These things all go together in my books.

I imagine she was too embarrassing so they had to let her go, but the truth is she is only half as dark as the PM. If it had been drunk driving like Gordon Campbell, our BC was charged with, this would have been promoted to the public as just being human, though they truly are not.

When I first read the full account of her behavior at Charlottetown airport I was dumbfounded. I've flow in and outta the airport a few times and it is the least stressful airports around. Of course it's staffed with Islanders, some of the kindest people in the country, and it's small and well laid out. You can actually talk to and joke with security. I too have showed up 5min before a flight and the staff was more then willing to accommodate me. Infact they went outta their way.

So, when I first read that story, I started researching her and I must say, I was dumbfounded again. Her and her husband are the typical elitist, some pigs are better then others.

This is a great reflection of the Harper gov and I'm very interested to see where this leads.

I suspect influence peddling.

Between Rahim still using his MP business cards, using the party logo on his website up until yesterday, promising access to the PMO's office and using a govt blackberry with a parl.gc.ca email address through his wife's office, it's not looking very good for Helena. Or she got busted for accepting a big gift aka the mortgage on her lovely home.

Both of them have taken their websites down now. Damage control I guess because Rahim's was full of pictures of him with government officials and talking about how he had access to govt funding.

Whatever it is, it must be juicy or Harper wouldn't have done such a quick turnaround. He must be absolutely furious right now.

reply to post by Duzey

Both of them have taken their websites down now.

Heleana's website google.cache

Her husband's (Rahim Jaffer) website doesn't seem significant enough to archive.

Pulling an MP's website is a BIG sign of legal issues and complete malfeasance that will spread and fester. I think the amputation was alittle too late.


[edit on 9-4-2010 by Connector]

Saturday morning updates (because this is getting juicier by the day).....

Geurgis's resignation letter to Harper (bolding mine):

This is to inform you that I am resigning my post as Minister of State ( Status of Women) effective immediately.

It has become apparent through baseless allegations and unfounded assertions made about my family that I need to step aside to allow for the good work of our government to continue serving Canadians.

I take responsibility for any errors I may have made, but at no time did I compromise my oath as a Member of the Privy Council. I strove each and everyday to work towards improving the lives of Canadians and indeed Canadian Women.

Thank you for the trust and confidence you have shown in me. I will continue to do my best to serve the government as a Member of Parliament.

Privvy Council Oath (again, bolding mine):

I, __________, do solemnly and sincerely swear (declare) that I shall be a true and faithful servant to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, as a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada. I will in all things to be treated, debated and resolved in Privy Council, faithfully, honestly and truly declare my mind and my opinion. I shall keep secret all matters committed and revealed to me in this capacity, or that shall be secretly treated of in Council. Generally, in all things I shall do as a faithful and true servant ought to do for Her Majesty.

So help me God.

Latest reports:

According to one source (a businessman who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gillani), Gillani remarked in October that he was "out with Helena Guergis and Rahim" at a dinner. This was about three weeks after Jaffer was charged with speeding, drunk driving and coc aine possession. Whether Guergis knew about Gillani's background is also unclear.

And just who is Gillani? From the same article:

Nazim Gillani, who partied and discussed government grants with former MP Rahim Jaffer, has talked a lot about being a banker for the Hells Angels in Vancouver.

Gillani boasted of this to people in Toronto who crossed him, and Friday two people affiliated with the organized crime group said they were happy to see Gillani leave British Columbia.

Gillani ran afoul of the biker group for talking too much about what he was doing – he told people he was laundering money. He left B.C. in 2005, shortly after he received a severe beating, though not from a member of the Hells Angels.

A man who claimed he was owed $150,000 by Gillani spotted the dodgy financier coming out of Smiley O'Neils pub in Vancouver. The man, who spoke to the Star Friday – he does not want his name used because he was never investigated by police for the beating – confronted Gillani, threw him into a stone fountain, breaking his cheekbone and nose. Shortly after that, Gillani started carrying a gun, a .22 pistol. Police on a routine stop discovered the gun and charged Gillani with carrying a weapon. Gillani left town shortly after and set up shop in a rented $1 million house on Kipling Ave. in Etobicoke.

Guilty of malfeasance or not, her political career is over. The public does not elect folks who hang out with HA associates.






[edit on 10-4-2010 by Duzey]

reply to post by Duzey


What the heck is going on with members of this government and their once or twice removed connections with a renowned biker gang?

This is twice now that it has come up loosely related to members of the Conservative Party. If Bernier was a fluke (I so wanted to type 'flake'), then the Gillani/Jaffer connection makes two flukes in a row.

Speculations abound.

Originally posted by Duzey
The public does not elect folks who hang out with HA associates.

I beg to differ...

In August 2007 (Maxime Bernier) became Minister of Foreign Affairs, but was forced to resign from cabinet on May 26, 2008 after a scandal involving an ex-girlfriend, Julie Couillard, with ties to the Hell's Angels. Despite the scandal, however, Bernier was easily re-elected in the 2008 election. en.wikipedia.org...

...and I understand he is currently doing the rubber chicken circuit.

Oh well, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck


Wishful thinking on my part, I suppose.

I hope Harper refuses to sign her nomination papers next time.

Originally posted by Duzey
reply to post by JohnnyCanuck

 

Wishful thinking on my part, I suppose.

I hope Harper refuses to sign her nomination papers next time.

I've no doubt of that...but this is going to wing him. He keeps his Cabinet on a tight leash, and this smells of arrogance in the ranks, just the same.

Watch him come down hard on caucus...and watch for Steve's handlers to start grumbling even more. They want a majority, and it's increasingly apparent Steve can't do it. Attitude, coke and hookers don't play well in High River.

If the Liberals find their collective butts...they could pull it off.

If.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
If the Liberals find their collective butts...they could pull it off.

If.

If the Canadian mix of political parties were a family, it'd be the most disfunctional imaginable.

Steve, the control freak, Iggy, the confused and Gilles, the man without a country of his own.

What does that leave? Not much, because the socialist dream just got buried in massive debt. Layton just hasn't got the moxy and Liz, the chipmunk, has been off filling her cheeks somewhere. *shudder*

For want of anything new to add to the topic, all I can think of is that the entire country is holding their breath waiting for the next Guerges/Jaffa revelation. I'm sure it will be huge and might even take our collective eyes off the increasingly embarrassing situation with the Afghan detainee conspiracy. Yes, I said it... a conspiracy. That little thing about Harper being in contempt of parliament is coming due, isn't it?

The government is in utter shables and maybe it's time for perogies... er, I mean prorogueing again. I was disgusted a long time ago, even before Harper came on the scene with his New Conservatives, but now it's becoming more than that... it's getting dangerously close to a mockery.

Originally posted by masqua
For want of anything new to add to the topic, all I can think of is that the entire country is holding their breath waiting for the next Guerges/Jaffa revelation.

I agree with everything you say here...but what I will add is that the whole country is holding their breath waiting for a leader they can believe in.

In my opinion we need another Trudeau.

This guy at least was at least for the people.

The Liberal party is one big mess.

The NDP is one big mess.

At least Harper can summon his followers and get the Zombie Canadian Christians moving.

lol

Trudeau never did worry too much about the US with Nixon and Nixon was about as bad as they come.

I guess all the Canadian intellectuals got transferred.