Dion concluded that it was not important, because Latense had always considered Katerry to be a sister and publicly referred to her as a sibling.

Dion said in a statement: “Based on Ms. Latense’s own public statements and actions, the public’s perception of Ms. Latense’s relationship with Ms. Hartley has led to a strong expression of an employment relationship that violates the regulations.” Published on the Internet today about His report on Khatri recruitment.

“I am sure that Ms. Ratansi promoted Ms. Khatri’s private interests in the sense of the Code by hiring Ms. Khatri in the constituency office. Since Ms. Khatri is not considered a family member for the purposes of the Code, I have to determine these private interests Was it promoted improperly.”

“Good faith” mistakes

The Canadian Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner’s Office received a complaint about Ratansi’s use of public funds to hire her sister in 2018. But turned it away. After the story hit the headlines last year, the office changed direction and started a review; it admitted that it could handle the case in a different way three years ago.

Dion suggested that Ratansi should not be penalized. The Ethics Commissioner concluded that the violations were “caused by negligence or errors in good faith.”

Ratansi posted on Facebook that she accepted the commissioner’s report and hoped it would end the matter.

Latense wrote: “This report now allows me to turn this page. My pledge is to continue to represent the residents of Don Valley East to the best of my ability and to ensure that their voices are heard in Ottawa.”

Ratansi, a long-time member of Don Valley East, left the Liberal Party caucus in November 2020 after learning that CBC News was investigating the fact that she had hired her sister as a district assistant in violation of parliamentary rules since 2017. Members of Congress may not hire immediate family members, including brothers and sisters.

The staff claimed to try to “cover up”

Several former employees told CBC News that Ratansi tried to “cover up” the relationship in the office by getting her sister to use the name “Jenny”. CBC News saw a business card with this name printed on it from Ratansi’s office.

The former staff also said that when someone came in, they saw Latense’s sister hiding under the office or desk. They might recognize her and claimed that they were instructed not to take pictures of her during work activities.

Former employee Alim Lila, Sued Ratansi on a series of allegations, including workplace abuseIn the statement of claim, Laila’s lawyer argued that Latansi told Laila that she was hiring her sister, her sister would use a pseudonym, and his job was to “hide her identity in the community and the office”.

Court documents stated that Lila expressed reservations, but was told that Ratansi’s decision was final. The claim statement stated that when Lila accidentally mentioned Khatri’s real name, he was “warned and abused”.

Ratansi denied the allegations made in the lawsuit.

Ratansi argued that she did not violate the regulations

According to the report, Ratansi told the commissioner that Hartree had been employed in her office from 2006 until she lost her seat in the 2011 federal election. At that time, members of Congress did not violate the rules for hiring their brothers and sisters; the bylaws changed in 2012.

Ratansi won her seat in 2015 and hired her adopted sister back to the office in 2017. According to reports, she later argued that she did not know that the rules had changed.

Ratansi contends that there is no mention of “adopted” or “fostered” siblings in the conflict of interest guidelines or bylaws.

She testified in Dion’s investigation that her father adopted an adopted child when the family lived in Tanzania in the 1950s, and that he had never formally adopted Khatri before his death in 1972. Ratansi provided a copy of Khatri’s birth certificate, indicating that Ratansi’s father was not the father named Hartri.

In written testimony and media interviews, Ratansi said that she had always publicly referred to Katri as her sister, “in accordance with Islamic cultural customs and her father’s personal wishes,” Dion’s report said.

Ratansi had previously called Khatri her “adopted sister”. At the environmental committee hearing on November 4, 2020, her microphone was muted when answering a call. In the video of the hearing, you can see Ratansi tilting out of the frame to answer the call and hear: “Zeenat is my adopted sister, actually.”

Watch: MP Yasmin Ratansi refers to her “adopted sister”

When answering a call during the Environmental Committee on November 4th, the Ratansi microphone was unmuted. 0:09

In a letter to the commissioner, La Tansi also stated that she had hired her “adopted sister” between 2017 and November 2, 2020. Ratansi said she terminated her employment after learning that the statutes prohibit members of Congress from hiring family members including siblings, Dion’s report said.

Ratansi said that the Liberal Party called her on November 2, 2020, telling her that she had received an anonymous letter stating that her sister was working in the office, Dion’s report said. Ratansi said she was told to fire her sister and wrote to Dion.

Ratansi, who is now an independent parliamentarian, apologized on Facebook when she announced her departure from the Liberal Party’s caucus and said that her judgment was wrong.

Members of Parliament have ordered Ratansi to repay the House of Commons more than $9,000 paid to her by her sister when she terminated the employment relationship. The internal economic committee of the House of Commons conducted a three-month review and found that Latense’s use of public funds to hire her sister violated parliamentary regulations.