OTTAWA – Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla says she’s giving up her post as the party’s multiculturalism critic while she works to clear her name in a domestic dispute.
Dhalla has become embroiled in a family labour dispute that involves allegations by two live-in caregivers hired to look after Dhalla’s mother. Magdalene Gordo and Richelyn Tongson claim they earned $250 a week working 12-to 16-hour days at the Dhalla family home in Mississauga, Ont., and that Dhalla seized their passports.
In a statement released Wednesday to the media, Dhalla said she is giving up her critic’s role “in order to focus my attention on clearing my name” and that she will “vigorously defend” her reputation.
Dhalla says she’ll work with appropriate authorities to “ensure the facts of the matter are clarified and corrected regarding my family’s experience with live-in caregivers.”
Dhalla offered her resignation, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said in a release, and he accepted.
“I look forward to a determination of the facts . . . ,” Ignatieff said.
Dhalla is not stepping down as MP for Brampton-Springdale.
