Canada

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Ousted Tory minister loses bid to sue PM for defamation

By: Bruce Cheadle

Posted: 08/25/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Helena Guergis (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -- The Superior Court of Ontario delivered an unmistakable message Friday to former Conservative cabinet minister Helena Guergis: You're still fired.

Judge Charles Hackland tossed out the $1.3-million defamation and conspiracy lawsuit launched by Guergis against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and others, ruling the hiring and firing of cabinet ministers was beyond the court's jurisdiction.

Guergis was seeking damages for her highly public removal from cabinet and ouster from the Conservative caucus in 2010.

"In this case, I find it plain and obvious that the actions of the prime minister, in relation to the removal of the plaintiff from cabinet, fall within the Crown prerogative," said the 21-page ruling.

"This court lacks the jurisdiction to review the tort allegations related to the prime minister's actions."

Guergis's lawyer, Stephen Victor, said his client was "very disappointed" by the ruling.

"I have been instructed to appeal," Victor said.

The firing came amid lurid reports of meetings with busty hookers and allegations Guergis was caught up in criminal activity with her businessman husband, Rahim Jaffer, himself a former top Conservative MP.

The RCMP later said it had no basis for charges against the pair.

Jaffer was found to have broken government lobbying rules by not registering as a lobbyist, and Guergis was rapped by the conflict-of-interest and ethics commissioner for writing under a government letterhead to a local politician about a businessman in her riding.

The businessman had been in talks with Jaffer about possible transactions.

A central allegation in Guergis's lawsuit was she was defamed when Harper said publicly he'd received serious allegations about her, and again when a letter was sent to the RCMP citing allegations received by the Prime Minister's Office.

But the court judgment says the Crown's prerogative to hire and fire cabinet members would be "rendered meaningless" if the Guergis suit were upheld.

"The prime minister would be required to answer, in court, for the political decisions he makes as to the membership of his cabinet," Hackland wrote.

"Crown privilege is an important principle of our legal system, and it cannot be attacked collaterally by way of allegations of tortious conduct."

The ruling also agreed booting Guergis out of the Conservative party caucus was covered by parliamentary privilege.

As for her allegations of a conspiracy among Harper, the Conservative party, its lawyer and several top political staffers, the judgment said they were "based on the plaintiff's removal from office as a minister of the Crown by the prime minister of Canada."

"The subject of this alleged conspiracy is conduct protected by the doctrine of Crown prerogative and is, therefore, beyond the jurisdiction of this court."

Guergis ran as an Independent in the 2011 federal election but finished third, losing the Simcoe-Grey seat in southwestern Ontario to Conservative Kellie Leitch.

A spokesman for the prime minister said there would be no comment on the court ruling.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 25, 2012 A23

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Canada

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.