Helena Guergis

The Honourable
Helena Guergis
PC
Member of Parliament
for Simcoe—Grey
In office
June 28, 2004 – May 2, 2011
Preceded byPaul Bonwick
Succeeded byKellie Leitch
Personal details
Born (1969-02-19) February 19, 1969 (age 55)
Barrie, Ontario
Political partyIndependent Conservative[1] (2010–present)
Other political
affiliations		Conservative (2004–2010)
SpouseRahim Jaffer
Children1
ResidenceAngus, Ontario
ProfessionBusinesswoman, policy adviser, political assistant, public servant
PortfolioSecretary of State (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) 2007–2008;
Secretary of State (Sport) 2007–2008;
Minister of State (Status of Women) 2008–2010

Helena C. Guergis, PC (/ˈdʒɔːrdʒɪs/ JOR-jiss; born February 19, 1969) is a Canadian politician of Assyrian descent.[2] She represented the Ontario riding of Simcoe—Grey in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2011, and was appointed Minister of State (Status of Women) on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election. Soon after starting her parliamentary career, she became involved in several controversial situations, and these increased with time in both number and severity.

Guergis was forced to resign from the Cabinet of Canada and leave the Conservative Party caucus on April 9, 2010, pending a Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into "serious" but unspecified allegations regarding her conduct.[3] While the RCMP investigated, and eventually concluded there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, Guergis continued to sit as an Independent Conservative in the House of Commons. She applied unsuccessfully for reinstatement to the Tory caucus.[4] Guergis was defeated while running as an independent in the 2011 election by Kellie Leitch, her replacement as the riding's Conservative candidate.

On December 22, 2011, Guergis launched a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several other people and organizations, including the federal Conservative Party, filed in Ontario Superior Court, over accusations of unfair and malicious treatment causing damage to her political career and reputation. Her lawsuit was later dismissed.

  1. ^ PARLINFO – Parliamentarian File – Federal Experience – GUERGIS, The Hon. Helena, P.C Archived 2007-11-09 at the Wayback Machine. .parl.gc.ca. Retrieved on 2012-05-22.
  2. ^ "Guergis family history". The Barrie Examiner. April 10, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  3. ^ "Guergis resigns, now faces RCMP probe" Archived 2013-01-24 at the Wayback Machine, Toronto Star, April 9, 2010
  4. ^ "Jaffer, Guergis cleared by RCMP: lawyers". CBC News. 2010-07-21. Archived from the original on 2010-07-24.