Ottawa

The day after all that

The Star reports that atop one of the proposals submitted by Green Power Corporation were the words “From Rahim.” Two businessmen who met with Mr. Jaffer say he was presented to them and presented himself as someone with access to government (and they provide the CBC with the MP business card they say Mr. Jaffer gave them). Nazim Gillani’s spokesman says Mr. Gillani thought Mr. Jaffer worked in “government relations.”

And Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi, chair of the government operations committee, passes on a letter, reprinted below, that she has directed to Transport Minister John Baird, after Mr. Baird sent an unsolicited package to her last evening.

Dear Mr. Baird

I received the package of documents you sent me during votes in the House of Commons last evening immediately after the testimony of Mr. Rahim Jaffer and Patrick Glémaud at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. They contain what would appear to be client proposals submitted by Green Power Generation Corp, the company owned by Mr. Rahim Jaffer and Mr. Patrick Glémaud.

These proposals appear to have been in various stages of consideration by yourself, your parliamentary secretary and your department.

In the handwritten note attached you only state “As requested. John Baird”

I am writing to seek clarification, because as Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates or as an MP, I made no such request of you or your department. As you may be aware, the committee did request that witnesses representing GPG at yesterday’s committee meeting provide a list of proposals that they submitted to the government.

Are these documents, the proposals in question? Are you acting as an agent for GPG or its principals, Mr. Jaffer or Mr. Glemaud? Or are you releasing this information on your own behalf or the instructions of the prime minister.

If it is the latter, I would appreciate if the committee could receive a full set of documents which includes all records related to GPG or its principals held in the care of the government and that such documents be given to the committee no later than Friday, April 23, 2010.

I await your speedy reply, because if it is your intention that I share the documents you sent with my fellow committee members, I would like to have them translated expeditiously so that I can provide them to all committee members as soon as possible.

Yours truly,

Yasmin Ratansi, MP
Don Valley East
Chair, Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates

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