The Conservatives got rid of former minister Helena Guergis because they feared that her husband was using her to attract clients to his new company and fuel the impression that he had access to a pot of federal cash, a parliamentary committee heard Wednesday.
Offering a first peek at behind-the-scenes manoeuvres last April, Conservative Party lawyer Arthur Hamilton said he felt a series of allegations against Ms. Guergis and ex-MP Rahim Jaffer had to be investigated by proper authorities, and that she had to leave government to wage her defence.
"Mr. Jaffer was creating an aura that he was ultimately connected with the government of Canada, and part of that shtick … was to point to a cabinet minister who happened to be his wife," said Mr. Hamilton, describing the information he received on April 8 and 9 from private investigator Derrick Snowdy.
Mr. Hamilton, who is also the lawyer for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said he was concerned about the business practices of Mr. Jaffer, who lost his seat in 2008 and sought funding for other firms in 2009 as co-owner of Green Power Generation.
"Anyone holding themselves out as a venture capitalist, when they have no venture capital, that's highly questionable conduct," Mr. Hamilton said, adding he was concerned that Mr. Jaffer was promising his clients that he could get the money in Ottawa.
Ms. Guergis resigned as minister of state for the status of women and left the Conservative caucus on April 9. She spoke twice that day to Mr. Hamilton for a total of 20 minutes, in which she was highly emotional, he said.
"She was on the defensive," Mr. Hamilton said, adding that Ms. Guergis denied all the allegations as "not true" or "ridiculous."
But Mr. Hamilton said he was concerned at the time that there could be a conflict between Mr. Jaffer's business dealings and Ms. Guergis's political career. He said subsequent revelations, including a letter written by Ms. Guergis in favour of one of Mr. Jaffer's business contacts, proved he was right.
"This warranted further investigation, and it was not for us to sit on the information," Mr. Hamilton said.
In his testimony, he revealed that after he spoke to Ms. Guergis, he received a call from Jaime Watt, the chairman of a public-relations firm, Navigator Ltd., that has worked with many politicians in times of crisis.
Mr. Hamilton said the call also showed that Ms. Guergis had well understood the implication of the allegations against her.
"Ms. Guergis still maintains that she does not know the allegations. As I have said, I explained them to her at length. Moreover, clearly Ms. Guergis remembered enough of the allegations to brief Mr. Watt, or to brief someone who then briefed Mr. Watt," Mr. Hamilton said.
Mr. Watt said on Wednesday afternoon that he ultimately did not take on Ms. Guergis as a client.
In a statement, Ms. Guergis's lawyer derided the notion that she was helping Mr. Jaffer's business by occasionally meeting his associates. "All we have learned today is that the concern apparently involves going out to dinner with her husband on one or two occasions, which proved that Mr. Jaffer was indeed married to Ms. Guergis. This was hardly a state secret," lawyer Howard Rubel said.
Mr. Hamilton also countered Mr. Snowdy's testimony that there were numerous errors in the information that the Prime Minister's Office forwarded in April to the Ethics Commissioner and the RCMP. The letter sent by PMO chief of staff Guy Giorno to the Ethics Commissioner was "accurate and appropriate," Mr. Hamilton said, adding he has also been contacted by RCMP investigators.
Ms. Guergis was originally scheduled to appear on Wednesday, but said her doctor advised her to postpone her appearance by a week.
Mr. Jaffer also failed to appear as scheduled, after he hired a new lawyer and told the committee that more time was needed to get ready for his second appearance. However, MPs on the government operations committee are working to issue a summons to force him to return.
Throughout his appearance, Mr. Hamilton insisted he relied on more than one source of information as he created a "factual matrix" involving the case of Ms. Guergis and Mr. Jaffer. Still, Mr. Hamilton was limited in the information he provided to the committee, and at times invoked attorney-client privilege in refusing to answer questions.