Former Conservative minister Helena Guergis insists her husband and former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer did not act as an unregistered lobbyist in his contacts with federal officials in the Harper government.

Speaking out in a CBC interview on Monday night, Ms. Guergis said she is “hurt” by the way that she has been treated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the past few weeks, adding it might be related to his dislike for her husband.

“I'm hurt by the Prime Minister. I am hurt because I did consider him to be a friend as well, so I find that very hard to deal with,” she said.

Ms. Guergis said she received assurances from Mr. Jaffer that he did not conduct business out of her parliamentary office, and that he did not lobby his former government colleagues since he lost his seat in the 2008 election.

“He promised that he would never do that and cause a conflict for me,” she said.

 

“ If people in your family make mistakes, you don’t turn your back on them. ”— Helena Guergis

Ms. Guergis is fighting to save her career, after learning that the Conservative Party does not want her as a candidate in her riding of Simcoe-Grey, which she has represented since 2004.

“I’m not ready to give up my political career,” she said.

Mr. Jaffer, meanwhile, is fighting off allegations of illegal lobbying as opposition MPs point to a series of federal documents released to a parliamentary committee, which suggest he sought millions of dollars in funds on behalf of a variety of projects. Fighting off tears, however, Ms. Guergis said she will stick by him.

“If people in your family make mistakes, you don’t turn your back on them,” Ms. Guergis said. “You stick with them and you work through it and I am committed to my marriage.”

Ms. Guergis remains angry that when she was forced to resign her position as minister of state for the status of women, Mr. Harper did not explain the allegations that were laid out against her by a private investigator, who was looking into one of Mr. Jaffer’s business partners.

“I feel as though they’ve thrown the rule books out the window, that they’re not respecting due process at all. I find it very undemocratic,” she said.

Still, she acknowledged having regrets about a letter she wrote to municipal officials last year in support of a company that was involved in business discussions with Mr. Jaffer’s company, Green Power Generation. She said the proposal was being shepherded by Mr. Jaffer’s partner, Patrick Glémaud.

“Now as I look at it, I wish I hadn’t written the letter,” she said. “But at the time, I assured myself, by asking my husband very clearly. He answered me with no, that there was nothing to worry about, nothing whatsoever.”

Ms. Guergis and Mr. Jaffer formed an attractive couple of young MPs until he suffered the indignity of being the only Conservative in Alberta to lose his seat in the 2008 federal election. To make matters worse, Mr. Jaffer was arrested last year on charges of cocaine possession and impaired driving, only to face a public outcry after those charges were dropped and he pleaded guilty to careless driving.

Ms. Guergis attracted her share of trouble in February after she lost her temper at the Charlottetown airport. While Ms. Guergis apologized to airport officials, she faced further controversy after some of her staff wrote glowing letters to newspapers praising Ms. Guergis, without mentioning their positions in her office.