Jody Wilson-Raybould says she’s in discussions over Parliament Hill office space

OTTAWA – The Speaker of the House of Commons says he will evict Jody Wilson-Raybould from her current office space if she does not leave on her own.

"I mean, obviously we have a process in place, there's a tradition in place," House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota told the CBC in an interview that aired Friday. "Eventually, yeah, if she doesn't (vacate), it'll be someone from my office who has to enforce the rules so that Parliament can function."

Wilson-Raybould, who is now an Independent MP, says she has been working with the House administration to resolve the issue involving the space on Parliament Hill where she was placed when she was a cabinet minister in 2018.

She says she understood she would stay in her offices when she was sworn in again as an MP earlier this month and had an Algonquin elder bless the space.

But Wilson-Raybould says she found out two days later she would be reassigned.

The Vancouver MP says she has been in discussions ever since and received a list of alternative locations only yesterday.

"My interest is only in serving the people who elected me and working with MPs across party lines on the important public policy issues facing our country and this is a distraction," Wilson-Raybould said in a statement.

"As an Independent I was trying to get clarity — given there are no written rules and given the mixed messages I was receiving about the office."

She said Friday she had not heard directly from Rota.

Rota told the CBC the timeline is flexible.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2019.