Ex-MP Rahim Jaffer responds to cocaine, drunk driving allegations

EDMONTON — Former Edmonton-Strathcona MP Rahim Jaffer responded Thursday to allegations he was driving drunk and carrying cocaine when Ontario police arrested him last weekend.

"I intend to fight the serious accusations that have been made against me," Jaffer, 37, said in a written statement e-mailed to the Edmonton Journal.

"I am innocent and am confident of full exoneration. I cannot express how grateful I am for the support of my family and friends and I ask that you respect their privacy as I strive to clear my name."

Jaffer was driving in his wife's riding last Friday when he was pulled over for speeding by police in Palgrave, Ont., north of Toronto. His wife, Helena Guergis, is the Conservative MP for Simcoe-Grey.

Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Const. Peter Leon said Thursday there has been a "significant amount of media interest regarding the matter," but couldn't comment on specific details about the traffic stop that triggered the charges. Jaffer was alone in the vehicle, a Ford Escape.

Leon said the officer who pulled Jaffer over noted "an odour of alcohol on the driver's breath."

A roadside screening device was used to get a breath sample from Jaffer, who was then arrested and taken to the Caledon OPP station, where he provided two more breath samples while being held in cells for about four hours.

He was then charged with impaired driving, possession of cocaine and speeding, before being released.

His licence was also suspended for 90 days.

Jaffer is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the matter Oct. 19 in Orangeville, Ont., court.

Jaffer was a four-term MP, first elected in 1997 at age 25. Last fall, he was the only Conservative to lose a riding in Alberta.

The party selected a new candidate, Ryan Hastman, to challenge Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan whenever another federal election is called.

Although the charges against Jaffer have not been proven in court, the outlook for his political career is not positive, analysts said Thursday.

"It's certainly not the kind of behaviour that the Conservative Party base approves of at all," University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young said. "There are lots of politicians who've managed to come back from something like this . . . but for somebody who's on the outside trying to make it back in, it makes it particularly difficult."

Faron Ellis, a political scientist at Lethbridge College and a former Reform party member, said the appearance of hypocrisy may bug Albertans because of the Conservative party's tough-on-crime agenda.

Ellis noted the charges against Jaffer make for little more than one day of headlines —except that Jaffer's wife is a sitting Tory MP and Minister of State for the Status of Women.

In Ottawa on Thursday, Guergis said little about the arrest.

"I take this very seriously," she told reporters. "I love my husband very much and I don't really have enough information to give you a fuller comment. If you do (want to) talk about it, please call my husband."

On Parliament Hill, politicians from all parties had little to say about Jaffer's arrest and what, if any, implications it might have for Guergis's political position.

"This is an unfortunate matter," said Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. "This is a man who held public trust and it's before the courts and I have no further comment to make about it."

NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis said, "All I can say is it's too bad. I'm sorry for him. I hope he gets the help he needs and I hope, you know, Helena is going to be strong in this relationship throughout all of this."

With files from Jamie Hall, Edmonton Journal and David Akin, Canwest News Service