OTTAWA — Nazim Gillani may have exaggerated when he told associates Rahim Jaffer could open the doors of the prime minister’s office but he is convinced Jaffer had the power to open doors in the Conservative government.
“His choice of words of opening the prime minister’s office was over enthusiastic hyperbole by a man who was very pleased with the meeting the night before and spreading the word to his associates,” said Brian Kilgore, spokesman for Gillani.
Kilgore pointed out that Jaffer’s own website touted his skill in government relations and helping clients secure government funding.
Gillani categorically denies the two ever did drugs together. He also denies he has pictures of Jaffer and his wife, former Conservative cabinet minister Helena Guergis, partying with hookers at a party where cocaine was being snorted.
Gillani says reports he set up companies for Jaffer and Guergis in Belize are also false.
Kilgore’s comments come as new allegations continued to surface about the couple.
The latest twist was a report Guergis had sent a letter to a top municipal politician in Simcoe in support of a waste management technology company called Wright Tech Systems. According to the report, at the time Jaffer and Gillani were involved in a plan to take the firm public in a $1-million deal.
In a statement, Guergis said Jaffer talked with company owner Jim Wright but had no business links or financial interest.
“I do know there was nothing unusual or improper about me writing a letter in support of a constituent and his company in which neither I nor any member or my family have or had any interest, financial or otherwise.”
The report renewed opposition attacks and calls for probes into the couples’ affairs. The Liberals filed a complaint with the lobbying commissioner while the NDP wrote to the ethics commissioner.
Jaffer and his partner Patrick Glemaud are to appear before the government operations committee Wednesday, followed by Gillani the following week.
elizabeth.thompson@sunmedia.ca
