An Indian-origin member of Canada’s House of Commons has resigned from the ruling Liberal Party of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after revelations that she had breached ethics norms by hiring her sister for a public job in her constituency office.
Yasmin Ratansi, who was born in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and has roots in Kutch, Gujarat, is an MP from the Toronto riding of Don Valley East. Interestingly, Ratansi had recently moved a petition in the House of Commons to criticise the Indian government over its actions in Jammu & Kashmir.
She had presented a petition in parliament in late September protesting the revocation of Article 370 and seeking the appointment of a fact-finding mission. Pro-Pakistan groups in Canada had welcomed the petition which asked the Government of Canada to “condemn the siege of Kashmir.”
Ratansi claimed an “error in judgement” in employing her sister for the taxpayer-funded job. “I have remedied the situation, but this does not excuse the error I made,” she said in a statement posted on social media. The case is being reviewed by Canada’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described her action as “unacceptable.”
During a media interaction, Trudeau said, according to the outet Global News, “I am deeply disappointed by the news I learned yesterday from Ms Ratansi and how she handled the office. It is unacceptable and I expect there will be a thorough follow up by administration on this.”
Meanwhile, the national broadcaster CBC reported that four of Ratansi’s employees alleged the MP mistreated them and created a “toxic and verbally abusive” environment in the office.