A former Liberal MP says she did not break nepotism rules because the sister she hired was adopted, says Blacklock’s Reporter..MP Yasmin Ratansi (Don Valley East, Ont.) was cited this week for breach of ethics rules that forbids the hiring of family members..“Ms. Ratansi submits there is no applicable reference to an ‘adopted’ or ‘foster’ sibling,” Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion wrote in a report..The five-term MP was kicked out of the Liberal caucus last November..Records showed Ratansi put her sister Zeenat Khatri on the payroll as a constituency aide for some eight years..The Conflict Of Interest Code For Members and a Commons bylaw prohibits MPs from misconduct that would “further his or her private interests or those of a member of the MP’s family.”.The sister’s appointment was disclosed by a tipster to CBC News and the Liberal Party last November 2. Nepotism is a firing offence in the federal public service. Ratansi publicly apologized, but in submissions to the Ethics Commissioner argued her sister was adopted and did not technically meet the definition of “a member of the family.”.“She submits the documentary evidence provided shows there is no legal bond between her and Ms. Khatri” and that Khatri was “never legally adopted,” said the report..“Ms. Ratansi testified her father had taken in Ms. Khatri at a very young age as a foster child while the family lived in Tanganyika, now Tanzania, in the 1950s..“Ms. Ratansi’s father had never formally adopted Ms. Khatri before he passed away in 1972. He was named as a ‘person in charge’ and not as the ‘father’ on the child’s birth certificate, a copy of which Ms. Ratansi provided.”.But Dion dismissed the legal argument..“Ms. Ratansi furthered Ms. Khatri’s private interests,” he wrote, adding the breach “occurred through inadvertence or an error in judgment made in good faith.”.No penalty was imposed..Ratansi fired her sister following the disclosure but paid her severance totaling $9,391. The Commons Board of Internal Economy last March 8 ordered Ratansi to repay the money..Ratansi as an opposition MP in 2006 criticized the Conservative cabinet for what she called the “political creep” of cronyism in appointments..“It is precisely this kind of behaviour that fuels public mistrust of government institutions,” said Ratansi..“Canadians deserve better accountability and we in the Liberal Party will give it to them.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
