Yasmin Ratansi is now out of the Liberal Caucus.
Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi – who represents the Toronto riding of Don Valley East – is out of the Liberal Caucus.
Why?
She was caught paying her sister out of public funds, something that MPs are not allowed to do.
Ratansi was first elected in 2004, and was the first Muslim woman elected to the Canadian Parliament.
In 2011 she was defeated, before winning the seat again in 2015.
CBC News reported that they asked Ratansi for comment on the issue a day before, and then Ratansi released a statement and left the Liberal Caucus.
Here’s what Ratansi said on Twitter:
“This evening I have advised the Prime Minister’s Office and the Speaker of the House of Commons that I am stepping down from the Liberal Caucus.
I will continue sitting in the House of Commons, representing the fine constituents of Don Valley East, and I will do so as an Independent.
I made an error in judgement by employing my sister in my constituency office, and I have remedied the situation, but this does not excuse the error I made.
Last week, I referred this matter to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, and I shall follow his recommendations on how I might remediate the situation.
To the constituents of Don Valley East and to anyone I may have disappointed by my error of judgement,
I take full responsibility, and to all I do apologize.
As I await the guidance of the Ethics Commissioner, I have no further remarks to make at this time.”
Here’s the thing.
It’s not like Ratansi made a small mistake and then corrected it quickly.
Rather, she appears to have been paying her sister for a large portion of her time in office.
Also, she seemingly went to great lengths to hide it, by having her sister use a fake name.
While the Liberals will likely try to distance themselves from Ratansi, this new revelation comes on the same day we learned that WE scandal documents – that were supposed to be produced under legal order by the House of Commons Ethics Committee – were instead destroyed.
The Liberals are showing a clear attitude that our tax dollars are their own personal playthings, showing zero respect for the fact that all taxes start off as personal wealth, and are then taken away from us by the government.
Canadians deserve better than this.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
