The Ethics Commissioner is back on the Helena Guergis file, this time over allegations the former Conservative minister of state promoted a biofuel company that had been involved in business discussions with her husband, ex-MP Rahim Jaffer.
Ms. Guergis denied allegations of a conflict of interest Friday afternoon, saying she recommended the waste-management technology of Wright Tech Systems Inc. only after ensuring that Mr. Jaffer "had absolutely no business links or financial interest" in the matter.
Ms. Guergis confirmed that Mr. Jaffer had discussions with the company's president, but she said that nothing had come of it when she wrote her letter last year to local officials in Simcoe County, which was struggling with waste-management issues.
"There was nothing unusual or improper about me writing a letter in support of a constituent and his company, in which neither I nor any member of my family have or had any interest, financial or otherwise," she said in a statement.
But the NDP contacted Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson after a media report alleging that Mr. Jaffer and a business associate had had plans to take the company public.
"We have written to the Ethics Commissioner to inform her of the former minister's actions and to ask her to undertake a formal investigation, something that this government will not do," NDP MP Libby Davies said.
According to the Conflict of Interest Act, Ms. Dawson must now examine the matter.
This is the second week in which the Ethics Commissioner has had to look at the case of Ms. Guergis. Prime Minister Stephen Harper forwarded allegations from a private investigator to her office and the RCMP last week. Ms. Dawson's initial investigation was short, as Mr. Harper did not follow the appropriate procedure by listing specific sections of the act that would have been contravened.
In a statement Friday, Ms. Dawson acknowledged that she is looking at the NDP letter.
"The commissioner continues to monitor allegations related to Ms. Guergis and is considering the appropriate actions to take," Ms. Dawson's office said, adding that Ms. Guergis will have 30 days to respond.
The Harper government, meanwhile, continued to distance itself from Ms. Guergis, whose departure from the Conservative cabinet and caucus has degenerated into a series of controversies.
"The member in question is no longer a member of the ministry," Transport Minister John Baird said in the House in response to questions about the letter to Simcoe County.
Mr. Baird told Ms. Davies that she is free to act as she wants with the allegations and refer them to authorities.
"If the member opposite has evidence that anything that has happened is inappropriate, I would encourage her to do the right thing, to follow the example of the Prime Minister and forward any allegations or any information she has to the relevant authorities so that they can do the right thing," Mr. Baird said.
This response is in contrast to Mr. Harper's speedy reaction last week when he received allegations involving Ms. Guergis from a private investigator, and referred them within a few hours to the RCMP and the Ethics Commissioner.