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Commons board finds MP Yasmin Ratansi broke rules by employing sister

Mar 8, 2021 | 3:22 PM

OTTAWA — Independent MP Yasmin Ratansi is being ordered to repay the House of Commons money given to her sister after she lost her job in Ratansi’s Toronto riding office.

Ratansi left the Liberal caucus in November after admitting she had employed her sister as a constituency assistant in her riding of Don Valley East, saying she “made an error.”

The board of internal economy, the all-party body that sets guidelines for MPs, reviewed the matter and says today it decided last month that Ratansi had broken the rules.

The board decided to order Ratansi to repay nearly $9,400 in termination and severance pay given to her sister once her employment in the constituency office was ended.

Speaker Anthony Rota, who chairs the board, says Ratansi was given chances to state her case and notes that she did not co-operate during the review.

Ratansi has represented the Ontario riding since 2015 and previously held the riding from 2004 to 2011.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021.

The Canadian Press