The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
For weeks, Liberals called for Helena Guergis to be kicked out of cabinet for a host of reasons – mismanaging the Status of Women portfolio, her airport tantrum, and ethically questionable letters to the editor.
But on April 9th, you acted on entirely different information when the Status of Women Minister was dismissed from cabinet, removed from Conservative caucus, and you referred the matter to the RCMP and the Ethics Commissioner. Despite repeated requests from Liberal MPs, Canadians still don’t know the nature of the allegations you called “serious” and “credible.”
We don’t know what, if anything, the RCMP is investigating, the Ethics Commissioner maintains she received no information, and the accused herself is baffled as to why she was fired. Furthermore, the supposed source of the criminal allegations, which were written down in your letter to the Ethics Commissioner, now claims the letter contains incorrect information.
Yesterday in an interview, however, Conservative MP Shelley Glover categorically promised the release of additional information: “There has been evidence that has been brought forward…I can assure you that there is far more to come out because this isn’t finished.” (Shelly Glover, CTV Question Period, May 16, 2010)
Given that you have since taken the extraordinary step of stripping Ms. Guergis of the Conservative nomination in Simcoe-Grey, we can only assume that the evidence Ms. Glover refers to is extremely serious. If unethical or criminal activity was occurring from within your cabinet, Canadians have a right to know about it.
Up until now, the government has only released documentation related to the central issue in this affair – improper lobbying for green energy funding – under pressure from the Opposition. This time, we hope that you will do the right thing and voluntarily release the information in your possession regarding this affair.
This is about the integrity of the government. Given that your own Conservative MP has promised more information, we again call for the release of your April 9th letter to the Ethics Commissioner and ask you to finally come clean on why the Status of Women Minister was fired, removed from Conservative caucus, and stripped of her nomination.
Regards,
The Honourable Marlene Jennings, P.C., M.P
Deputy House Leader for the Official Opposition and
Liberal Critic for Government Ethics and Democratic Reform
