Employee suspended from Conservative MP's office following alleged insensitive comments
An employee at a Regina Conservative MP’s office has been suspended from his duties following allegations of insensitive comments toward a constituent.
Kashif Jamali is a financial accountant in Regina. He told CTV News he contacted the office of Regina—Wascana MP Michael Kram to obtain a letter of reference on a government matter. Jamali presented a proposed draft of the letter, and it was during this interaction that alleged insensitive comments were made.
“He said, ‘you should improve your English before coming to an MP’s office’ and during this conversation, he added that Canadian MP’s are not here to help immigrants,” Jamali told CTV News.
He shared his concerns about the interaction in a Facebook post.
“The problem isn’t that [the] MP's assistant feels ‘Yikes’ about our accent and English, the problem is it’s coming from [a] federal MP’s office, who we voted to be our voice and stand against racism,” Jamali wrote on Facebook.
Kram was not available for an interview on Thursday, but confirmed to CTV News that the employee against whom allegations were made has been suspended, pending an internal investigation.
“This investigation, which will be done in consultation with the House of Commons Human Resources department, will be conducted on the basis of the best practices of HR and ordinary justice,” Kram said. “This is to say that there will be presumption of innocence, a right to a defence and that the investigation will be based on evidence not hearsay.”
He also said that if evidence of wrongdoing is presented, the employee in question will face disciplinary action “commensurate with the assessed severity of the offences.”
Kram has been in office for nearly two years since defeating long-time Liberal MP Ralph Goodale in the 2019 federal election.
Jamali says he has also had positive experiences dealing with Kram’s staff. He is pleased that his concern is being taken seriously.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.