The wife of former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer, a sitting politician herself, says she's standing by her husband after his arrest for impaired driving and cocaine possession.
Jaffer was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police north of Toronto last week. The 37-year-old faces charges of cocaine possession and driving while over the legal blood-alcohol limit. The charges have not been proven in court.
Jaffer's wife, Tory cabinet minister Helena Guergis, reacted to news of his arrest on Thursday.
"I'm taking this very seriously," Guergis told reporters. "I don't really have enough information to give an informed comment."
She added that she was not in the car at the time of the arrest.
Jaffer is scheduled to appear in an Orangeville, Ont. court on Oct. 19. His licence has been suspended for 90 days.
The young politician was once seen as a rising star in the Conservative party. He won his first seat in Parliament at the age of 25, serving as MP for the Edmonton-Strathcona riding from 1997 until 2008. He was then defeated unexpectedly by NDP candidate Linda Duncan.
In the lead-up to the 2008 election, Jaffer ran anti-drug ads on an Edmonton radio station accusing the NDP of supporting the legalization of marijuana.
"Edmontonians understand how difficult it is to make sure our children make the right choices especially on serious issues like drug use," he said in the ad.
In 2001, Jaffer's executive assistant impersonated him during a radio interview, sparking another scandal. The assistant later resigned, saying that Jaffer had no knowledge of the ruse.
