Thursday, October 4, 2001
Is Martin in conflict?
Day: Grit not able to rule on Tamils
By ANNE DAWSON, OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF
OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Paul Martin's dinner with Toronto's Tamil community last year now puts him in conflict with his cabinet colleagues, the Canadian Alliance has charged.
Leader Stockwell Day said Martin should not participate in a cabinet decision on whether the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT) ought to be added to the government's list of terrorist organizations and subject to punitive sanctions.
That's because Martin, along with Minister of International Cooperation Maria Minna, attended a Tamil fundraising dinner in May 2000.
"Paul Martin has to make it very clear that he doesn't want to be seen in a conflict of interest on this," said Day. "If, in fact, the group called FACT is involved in raising money for terrorist operations, he should not be involved in that decision."
CSIS and the U.S. state department have said FACT has links to the Tamil Tigers, a separatist rebel group responsible for the deaths of civilians and politicians in its war to win an independent ethnic state.
A spokesman for Martin later said the finance minister has every intention of participating in cabinet decisions on every terrorist group.
"If evidence is developed and put before cabinet, he will be at that cabinet table and supportive of shutting down anybody who is raising money for terrorism," Brian Guest said.
Tory Leader Joe Clark suggested Martin should be more cautious about his dinner companions. He declined to say whether FACT should be placed on the terrorist list.