Ian Harvey met with former MP Rahim Jaffer on Aug. 25, 2009 at the Le Castille Steakhouse in Mississauga, Ont. It was the one and only meeting Harvey had with Jaffer, according to testimony Harvey gave today at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. At that meeting — 10 months after Jaffer lost his Edmonton-area seat in in the 2008 general election – Harvey said this is the business card that Jaffer gave him at that meeting:
And here is an excerpt of an exchange between Jaffer and NDP MP Pat Martin when Jaffer testified at the same committee back on April 21:
Mr. Pat Martin: Have you ever used your previous MP's business card during the course of promoting any private business?
Mr. Rahim Jaffer: Again, you're pulling these things out from a great source—your source—The Toronto Star.
Mr. Pat Martin: I want you to clarify this.
Mr. Rahim Jaffer: I can tell you, sir, that none of these things—
Mr. Pat Martin: Have you ever circulated your MP's business card after you ceased to be an MP?
Mr. Rahim Jaffer: I don't even understand what good that would provide. It would—
Mr. Pat Martin: It would only imply that you still have some sort of relationship to Parliament, even though you're no longer a member of Parliament.
Mr. Rahim Jaffer: As I said, I'll go back to my opening statement, because I think it's clear that—
Mr. Pat Martin: Can you answer that question first?
Mr. Rahim Jaffer: I told you I never did those things. These are allegations. I never would make unsubstantiated claims that I couldn't follow through. We're building a new business—
Mr. Pat Martin: This is your opportunity to make that case.
Mr. Rahim Jaffer: Will you let me finish, or do you want to keep cutting me off? If we're trying to build a business from the ground up that's based on credibility to deliver, the last thing we're going to do is make any claims that we can't deliver. I've told you over and over again throughout my testimony here, as well as in questions, that my number one concern was that my wife, who still served in the government, would never be in any conflict of interest. So I operated my business in that capacity.