TORONTO Helena Guergis, who recently lost her job as Canada's junior cabinet minister because of alleged wrongdoings of her husband Rahim Jaffer, has now been barred from contesting election on ruling Conservative party ticket.
The party's National Council on Thursday removed her name as its official candidate for Simcoe-Grey because of allegations levelled against her and Rahim Jaffer, a former Conservative MP.
Jaffer denied allegations and said the charge that he was engaged in illegal lobbying were “without any basis” and motivated by political opportunism of opposition MPs.
In testimony to a parliamentary committee, he said his company, Green Power Generation Corp, had not done any lobbying on Parliament Hill and had not secured any grants or funding from the federal government.
Jaffer was the first Muslim elected to the Canadian Parliament in 1997 at the age of 25. He remained an MP till his defeat in 2008.
On Oct 15, 2008, he married his former caucus colleague Helena, by then a Cabinet minister. This was her second marriage.
The embattled Guergis said she was being treated unfairly by her party and would appeal its decision to drop her from the roster of candidates.
In a statement released on Thursday, she said it was not fair for the Conservative party to convict her on allegations that had not been proved.
Last month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Guergis was stepping down from the cabinet after 'serious allegations' had been raised about her conduct.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.