Hung out to dry: the long fall of Helena Guergis

It’s game on again between Beauty and the Beast — the star-crossed Helena Guergis and a prime minister grown so ruthless he is beginning to frighten even his own people.

The Conservative Party of Canada is coming after Guergis in the wake of a court case she lost alleging a conspiracy to have her fired, leaving her owing $38,000 in costs. True, the money is owed. But the legal boa constrictor is being applied with remarkable vigor.

Guergis’s offer of $30 a month has been rejected by the CPC. Unless she comes up with a satisfactory payment plan, the CPC will pay for a financial inquisition into the affairs of two Conservative politicians who were once the glamour couple of the capital — Helena Guergis and Rahim Jaffer.

Guergis to appeal dismissed lawsuit against Harper

Former Conservative MP Helena Guergis will appeal an Ontario court's decision released Friday that struck down the lawsuit she filed against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other top Conservatives and staff.

Harper and the other defendants countered her lawsuit, filed in December, with a motion to toss it out and Ontario Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland granted that motion.

Fate Of Guergis Lawsuit Against Harper Now In Judge's Hands

The lawsuit against Prime Minister Stephen Harper by his former cabinet minister Helena Guergis is now in the hands of a judge who will decide whether it will live or die.

Arguments on both sides wrapped up Friday morning in an Ottawa courtroom on the third day of a hearing to determine whether Harper’s motion to have the lawsuit struck down should be granted.

Harper can't be shielded from facing defamation suit: Guergis's lawyer

OTTAWA - A lawyer for former cabinet minister Helena Guergis is fighting for her case to stay alive in court.

Stephen Victor struck back at defence counsel who said her defamation and conspiracy suit against the prime minister and other Conservative figures is flimsy and should be thrown out.

Guergis was turfed from cabinet and the Tory caucus in 2010 after allegations were made against her of possible criminal and unethical activity.

Defendants have told an Ontario Superior Court that the case should be dismissed because of the constitutional protections afforded the prime minister, cabinet and Parliament.

But Victor says the case has nothing to do with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's right to hire or fire who he wants.

He says the crux of the matter is what Harper did before he dismissed her, and that was allegedly defame her in a public statement and in a letter to the RCMP and the ethics watchdog.

Original Article
Source: winnipeg free press
Author: CP

Stephen Harper’s lawyers attack Helena Guergis’ defamation suit

OTTAWA—A lawyer for Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a withering assessment Wednesday of a defamation case brought by former cabinet minister Helena Guergis, calling parts of her claim “gibberish” and “a fiction.”

Guergis has filed a $1.3-million lawsuit against Harper, the Conservative party and several figures inside the Tory government alleging defamation, conspiracy, “misfeasance in public office,” infliction of mental suffering and negligence.

Helena Guergis Lawsuit Against Harper In Ottawa Court

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's lawyer told an Ottawa court this morning that the lawsuit against his client by Helena Guergis is full of bald allegations with no facts to support them.

A hearing to have the lawsuit against Harper and a long list of other defendants thrown out began Wednesday morning.

Harper's lawyer, Robert Staley, picked apart the claims made by Guergis and told Judge Charles Hackland that the lawsuit has little substance.

Harper moves to dismiss 'frivolous' lawsuit by Guergis

Prime Minister Stephen Harper filed a motion in court Friday to get Helena Guergis's "frivolous" lawsuit against him dismissed.

"The action is frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process and accordingly should be stayed or dismissed," the court document obtained by CBC News says.

The document notes that Guergis filed a complaint against the prime minister with the Canada Human Rights Commission in May 2011, a year after she resigned from cabinet due to the controversy that emerged in April 2010. She lost the complaint and Harper's court motion says she then set out to launch the lawsuit.

Harper's motion to strike out the lawsuit comes two days after a similar one filed by his former chief of staff, Guy Giorno, who is also being sued by Guergis. The motion is also on behalf of Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, Conservative MP Shelly Glover and Ray Novak, Harper’s principal secretary, who are all named in Guergis's lawsuit.

PMO letter on Helena Guergis is released

OTTAWA—The letter that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office fired off to the federal ethics commissioner that triggered Helena Guergis’ political woes was a straightforward referral of allegations that “she promised to advance private business interests,” the Star has learned.

Signed by Harper’s then-chief of staff Guy Giorno, the three-paragraph letter makes no mention of reports about partying with cocaine users or busty hookers, or any other outlandish behaviour.

Nor does it mention that at the heart of the potential conflict-of-interest allegation was Guergis’ spouse Rahim Jaffer, a former Conservative MP.

Moreover, the letter, dated April 9, 2010, makes no explicit request of ethics allegation commissioner Mary Dawson, but outlines allegations “made by Mr. Derrick Snowdy” — a private investigator.

“In particular, Mr. Snowdy alleges that Ms. Guergis attended meetings at which she promised to advance private business interests. Mr. Snowdy makes additional allegations about the MP’s conduct, allegations that may or may not be relevant to her responsibilities under the Conflict of Interest Act and/or the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.”

Government mum over cost of lawyer defending Harper in defamation suit

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is refusing to reveal how much Canadian taxpayers are being charged to pay a private-sector lawyer hired to represent Prime Minister Stephen Harper and three other people who are among those being sued for defamation by former Tory cabinet minister Helena Guergis.

On Parliament Hill Wednesday, opposition politicians reacted with dismay — accusing Harper of unacceptable secrecy in an effort to hide his irresponsible spending.

The developments occurred in the wake of an exclusive Postmedia News report which revealed that the government bypassed the use of a staff lawyer from the Department of Justice to handle the lawsuit for Harper.

Taxpayers on hook for Harper's high-powered legal defence in Guergis case

OTTAWA — The Conservative government has hired a private-sector lawyer, at taxpayers' expense, to represent Prime Minister Stephen Harper and three other people who are among those being sued for defamation by former Tory cabinet minister Helena Guergis, Postmedia News has learned.

The government could have appointed a staff lawyer from the Department of Justice to handle the case, but chose instead to reach into the private sector to select one of the country's leading litigators — Robert Staley.

The Toronto-based lawyer is a partner at the law firm of Bennett Jones. Staley is promoted by his firm on its website, which cites publications that praise him for his "skilled handling of complex cases," a "first-rate" ability to cross-examine witnesses, and as a "litigation star" who "works hard for his clients and gets results."

Helena Guergis Lawsuit: Former Tory MP Sues Harper, Others For Defamation

Former MP Helena Guergis is suing Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Conservative MPs Shelly Glover and Lisa Raitt, the Conservative Party of Canada and a number of other individuals for defamation and other claims.

The former member of Harper's cabinet, who had to leave the Conservative caucus in April 2010 following allegations against her and her husband, former MP Rahim Jaffer, launched the court action in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. The statement of claim was obtained by CBC.

The unproven allegations related to drug use, fraud, extortion and association with prostitutes.

Guergis is not only suing her former boss and colleagues, but also Ray Novak, Harper's principal secretary, Arthur Hamilton and the law firm he works for, Cassels Brock & Blackwell, Guy Giorno, Harper's former chief of staff, Axelle Pellerin, a former aide to Guergis, and Derrick Snowdy. Snowdy is the private investigator from Toronto whose allegations helped spark the controversy around Guergis and her husband.

Snowdy spoke to Hamilton about Guergis and Hamilton then spoke to Novak, Harper and others, according to the statement of claim. Hamilton gave the impression that Guergis had used cocaine and engaged in other unlawful activities and that there was video evidence of it, the document suggests.