OTTAWA – Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt must step aside from her cabinet position while she is under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner, just as Stephen Harper called on previous Liberal ministers to do, says New Democrat MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina).

“When then Liberal Immigration Minister Judy Sgro was under the exact same kind of investigation, then-opposition leader Harper called for her to step aside until the Ethics Commissioner could report,” says Chow. “If he’s serious about doing politics differently, Mr. Harper needs to follow his own lead and ask his scandal-plagued Natural Resources Minister to step aside.”

Yesterday, Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson announced that Raitt is under investigation for a partisan fundraiser organized for her out of the Toronto Port Authority, a crown corporation which she used to head.

“First she calls the isotope crisis ‘sexy’, then she uses taxpayer money for fancy lunches. Now she’s under investigation for allegedly using a crown corporation as her fundraising arm,” says Chow. “Stephen Harper was elected on a promise to do politics differently than the Liberals did. Instead, he’s letting his cabinet ministers get away with the same old tricks. Out of respect for Canadians, it’s time he asks Minister Raitt to step aside.”