If the allegations against embattled Simcoe-Grey member of Parliament Helena Guergis and her husband turn out to be true, then she has no place representing her constituents in the House of Commons. However that is a matter for voters to decide and not the Conservative Party of Canada.
CTV reported early Thursday morning that the former minister for the status of women has been removed as a candidate in her riding by the party’s National Council and the search for a new candidate has begun in earnest. The move comes after the local constituency association sent a letter to the party and Conservative Parliamentarians this week asking that Guergis be kept as a candidate for the riding, believing that, despite the events of the last month, she is still popular in her constituency and stands the best chance at hanging on to the seat.
It is yet another humiliating slap in the face for the minister who, along with husband and former MP Rahim Jaffer, has been implicated in possible use of cocaine, allowing Jaffer to use her Parliamentary resources to conduct business and potentially conducting inappropriate lobbying activities. Jaffer has been in the spotlight more so than Guergis for allegedly consorting with individuals facing criminal charges, boasting of direct access to the prime minister to potential business colleagues and allegedly working as an unregistered lobbyist despite Conservative efforts to crack down on former MPs lobbying government after being ousted in an election.
No one can dispute that Guergis is in trouble — that the prime minister decided to call in the RCMP to investigate whatever it is he learned that triggered Guergis’ removal from caucus indicates it could be serious. But simply removing her as a candidate in her riding is the type of move the Conservatives have always criticized other parties for, particularly the Liberals. Despite their commitments to so-called ‘grassroots’ movements and allowing constituencies to pick their own candidates, the party has directly interceded, fearing an election could be called at any time.
The Liberals have a practise of selecting certain candidates for ridings over others, which has caused problems at the caucus level. They also have a tendency to ‘parachute’ star candidates into ridings they want to win instead of letting the people decide. The Conservatives have routinely criticized both moves. Now it appears the shoe is on the other foot.
The chances of an election in the immediate future are murky at best and the RCMP has not yet charged Guergis, nor have any allegations been proven. All we’ve heard is committee testimony by questionable individuals before partisan gatherings. There might be some substance to the scandal surrounding Guergis and Jaffer, but until she is actually charged, it is not the place of her party to decide her future. It is up to the voters in her constituency, first at the nomination level, and then in an election to decide if she should still represent the residents of Simcoe-Grey. If the local executive, which is comprised of members of the riding, believe Guergis has a good shot at hanging onto her seat, why risk losing by running a candidate they don’t want in the first place?
Guergis’ actions might have been questionable, but those of the National Council are simply wrong. Democracy gives voters the power to decide who stays and who goes. The Conservatives just might learn that lesson during the next election in the constituency of Simcoe-Grey.
