OTTAWA — A Conservative Party lawyer says there was more than one source of information that lead to the ouster of Helena Guergis from caucus, including the former minister herself.
Arthur Hamilton also told the Commons government operations committee that she was fully briefed on the allegations that were being made against her.
Guergis had said publicly that she does not know the reasons why she was turfed from the Conservative caucus and stripped of the Tory nomination in her Ontario riding.
Hamilton said the allegations centred around her husband Rahim Jaffer’s business dealings with a controversial Toronto venture capitalist.
The committee is currently studying whether Jaffer, a former Tory MP, was illegally lobbying government officials and selling influence with his former colleagues.
The lawyer said there was information that suggested Guergis was helping Jaffer promote an aura of connectedness with government.
Hamilton said a private investigator was only one of the sources who compelled Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take action against Guergis.
Meanwhile, the federal ethics watchdog will investigate Guergis to determine if she breached conflict-of-interest rules for MPs.
Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson has completed a preliminary review of Guergis’ activities and is taking the next step of launching an inquiry.
Guergis’ lawyer says the probe concerns a 2009 letter Guergis sent to Simcoe County officials in Ontario promoting the waste technology products of Wright Tech Systems.