The Conservatives say they're worried about the new Liberal justice minister's possible conflict of interest with her lobbyist husband.
In a letter to Canada's lobbying commissioner, Tory ethics critic Blaine Calkins says he wants a ruling on whether Jody Wilson-Raybould's husband can keep lobbying her government.
"Here we have one of the most powerful Ministers of the Crown, who has significant interests in a company which lobbies the Crown," the March 3 letter reads. "Her spouse is the only lobbyist for said company."
Tim Raybould, who runs the KaLoNa Group, registered to lobby the federal government on behalf of two First Nations groups after his wife was elected in the fall.
Wilson-Raybould, Canada's first Indigenous justice minister, ran the KaLoNa Group with her husband before taking office. She has a "significant interest" in the firm, according to a public declaration.
"How are Canadians supposed to believe that the Justice Minister, who also happens to be the former CEO of the KaLoNa Group, won’t ever discuss business with her husband?” a statement from Calkins says.
As was first reported by BuzzFeed Canada, last week the ethics commissioner placed a "screen" on Wilson-Raybould to prevent a potential conflict of interest situation. The screen is an agreement intended to remove the minister from any discussions or activities that could be linked to the KaLoNa Group's work.