Page "Judy Wasylycia-Leis" Paragraph 10

She became the centre of a national controversy during the 2006 election campaign.

She had contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police ( RCMP ) requesting an investigation into whether or not Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale had illegally leaked information regarding a government announcement on income trusts, so as to benefit certain insiders.

Following her request, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli wrote to Wasylycia-Leis to inform her that the RCMP had commenced a criminal probe into the matter.

The letter was delivered to her offices, which were closed for the holidays.

When she did not respond to the letter, Zaccardelli called her personally to ask whether or not she had read his letter.

Wasylycia-Leis then proceeded to call a press conference to announce that the Liberals were the subject of an RCMP investigation.

The effects of this announcement were an almost immediate drop in Liberal popularity and surge in Conservative momentum, as indicated by public-opinion polls.

The letter from Zaccardelli to Wasylycia-Leis remains controversial, as it went against standard RCMP policy by publicly announcing that a criminal investigation is being conducted.

The controversy is deepened by the timing of the announcement to coincide with a federal election campaign.

On February 15, 2007, the RCMP announced the conclusion of the income trust investigation and laid a charge of ' Breach of Trust ' against Serge Nadeau, an official in the Department of Finance.

Goodale was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Nevertheless, Wasylycia-Leis called for an apology from Goodale.