Ottawa

Viva Guergis

So, apparently, it was also Rahim Jaffer, in Cuba, with the special passport and the Castro administration. And maybe even that isn’t the entirety of it.

Sources close to the controversy say Harper was told Jaffer used the passport on a trip to Cuba promoting green technology to the Castro regime. That raised immediate fears that Cuban officials could have been misled that Jaffer carried Canada’s seal of approval…

It’s not clear when the Prime Minister first learned about the passport issue or if it is part of unspecified information still being withheld about the case. More certain is that Harper was justifiably riled by the combination of the visit to a country loaded with Canada-U.S. diplomatic sensitivities, as well as the abuse of privilege. Even so, both the warnings and the Prime Minister’s reaction are being kept under unusually tight wraps. That suggests there’s more to an incident that on the surface seems little more serious than a breach of protocol.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.