Meetings with Jaffer revealed...grudgingly

Another day, another grudging acknowledgment from the government in the Guergis/Jaffer affair.

Today, the Minister of Transport John Baird confirmed that his parliamentary secretary, Conservative MP Brian Jean, met last year with Rahim Jaffer and Jaffer's business partner.

The two have a company called Green Power Generation. And they made a pitch for three projects to receive funding under the federal Green Infrastructure Fund.

The program is Baird's responsibility.

But the minister has never mentioned these meetings before. His admission came only after media outlets reported that they'd taken place.

In the House of Commons, the Liberals demanded details of the meetings - the first in June and the second in September - and why Jean hadn't reported them to the federal ethics commissioner since neither Jaffer nor his partner are registered as lobbyists.

Baird insisted that, under federal law, cabinet ministers and the MP assistants are under no obligation to do so.

That obligation to report any lobbying activity rests with the people making the pitch for government cash.

Of course Baird has also had a private meeting with Jaffer - his former Conservative colleague.

The two had dinner September 3, 2009, the same day that Jaffer sought funding from Baird's parliamentary secretary.

Baird says he never discussed Jaffer's business.

The problem is that Baird hasn't said what the two did talk about. Or whether the Green Infrastructure Fund came up over dinner.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice also revealed today that Jaffer buttonholed him in the halls of parliament more than a year ago to ask about the fund, but that the conversation lasted only 30 seconds once Prentice told Jaffer that he wasn't in charge of the program.