OTTAWA – Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party, today urged Opposition Parties and the media to focus on the real issues revealed in the Speaker’s ruling that the CIDA document related to KAIROS funding was “doctored.”

“This is not a case of demanding the Prime Minister stop supporting his minister and seek her resignation, but much more likely, of when the Minister will stop covering for her boss,” said Elizabeth May.

Following the Speaker’s ruling, Minister Bev Oda has changed her story, moving from her testimony to the committee, that she had no idea who had placed the hand-written “NOT” in the recommendation to fund KAIROS, and now claiming it was done at her direction.

“None of this washes. If the Minister did not want to fund KAIROS, the solution was easy enough. Send the unsigned document back to CIDA officials, leave it on the desk to gather dust, ignore it. The most plausible explanation for the state of the document is that Bev Oda signed the approval and the “NOT” was inserted subsequently,” said Ms. May.

The whole issue must be explored through a wider investigation, one that includes what role minister of immigration Jason Kenney played in this decision, and particularly the controlling role played by the Prime Minister’s Office.

In reviewing the details of the case in a press conference, Elizabeth May noted that KAIROS had re-applied in March of 2010, to meet the new priorities Minister Oda had told them they failed to cover in the rejected proposal. The fact that CIDA staff are no longer allowed to even speak to KAIROS staff, that the proposal for funding from an organization with an exemplary record for development assistance over a 35 year period have not received any response further suggests political interference.

Tags: Bev Oda, CIDA, Elizabeth May, KAIROS