Jaffer had meeting with minister's office: Prentice

Environment Minister Jim Prentice says that ex-MP Rahim Jaffer approached his office last year as a representative of a green technology company.

Prentice told the House of Commons on Friday that one of his staffers -- regional affairs director Scott Wenger -- met with Jaffer last April.

CTV News reported Friday night that the meeting took place in the office of Jaffer's wife, former cabinet minister Helena Guergis, who was kicked out of the Tory caucus earlier this month.

Prentice added that all the relevant information has been passed onto the Commissioner of Lobbying, who is looking into allegations that Jaffer acted as a lobbyist without first registering.

"No contract was ever awarded to the company. Mr. Speaker, I was not involved in those discussions in April 2009, nor was I aware that they took place," Prentice said.

"As I have previously stated publicly, the only discussion that I have had with Mr. Jaffer in the past year-and-one-half consisted of a 30-second discussion in this very building in early 2009, when I told him that I was not responsible for the administration of the so-called Green Funds."

Prentice's revelations stand in contrast to comments that Jaffer and his business partner Patrick Glemaud made on Wednesday at a Commons committee probing their dealings.

Jaffer and Glemaud, who run the company Green Power Generation, told the Standing Committee on Government Operations that they had never lobbied nor enquired about gaining federal money from the Green Infrastructure Fund.

Toronto businessmen Nazim Gillani, who has been linked to Jaffer, will appear before the committee next week.

Also on Friday, an environment-focused Ontario company which has been linked to the affair said that it has never had financial dealings with Jaffer.

Wright Tech Systems is a company that offers environmentally friendly waste management technology. It also has an associated marketing division called Green Rite Solutions.

The company's name was brought up on Parliament Hill recently, after documents were released indicating that Jaffer and Green Power Generation Corp. had sent a proposal to Ottawa asking for $100 million on behalf of Green Rite Solutions.

It was also revealed recently that during the same period, Guergis wrote a letter of support about Wright Tech to a municipal politician in her riding.

No 'financial dealings'

The owner and chairman of Wright Tech Systems released a statement Friday indicating that neither Jaffer, nor Gillani, held financial ties to his business or its sales arm.

"At no time has Wright Tech Systems or Green Rite Solutions had any financial dealings with Nazim Gillani or Rahim Jaffer," Jim Wright said in the statement.

"At no time have any payments of any kind been made between any of these parties. We certainly never discussed lobby efforts."

Still, Wright Tech acknowledged that it had previously met with Gillani "to assess potential financial opportunities," but cut off the relationship after a few meetings.

Wright Tech said it made contact with Jaffer through Gillani, but soon terminated its relationship with the former Edmonton-Strathcona MP.

Furthermore, Wright said it is unlikely that Guergis engaged in any lobbying because her husband did not hold a financial position in Wright Tech.

"It is my belief that allegations against MP Helena Guergis as to impropriety or conflict of interest are misguided as regards this matter," Wright said in the same statement.

Guergis has said she previously looked into any potential links between Wright Tech and her husband, but became satisfied that no real link existed.

Cabinet departure

Guergis, a three-term Simcoe-Grey MP, is currently sitting outside of the Tory caucus. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced earlier this month that she was leaving cabinet following "serious allegations."

The day before Guergis stepped down from cabinet, a Toronto Star report detailed a business meeting involving Gillani, Jaffer and other associates.

According to the Star report, the men discussed means of obtaining government funds for business projects and allegedly referred to a "green fund" that could be accessed.

When Jaffer drove home from that meeting, the Star said he was stopped by police in Palgrave, Ont., arrested and charged with cocaine possession and driving under the influence. Though those charges were later dropped, he pleaded guilty to careless driving last month.

The next day, Gillani sent out an email bragging that Jaffer had "opened up the Prime Minister's Office to us."

When that claim that was made public in the April 8 Star report, a Harper spokesperson said it was "absurd."

With files from The Canadian Press