Helena C. Guergis, ( ; born February 19, 1969) is a Canadian politician of Assyrian descent. She represented the Ontario riding of Simcoe—Grey in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2011, and was appointed Minister of State (Status of Women) on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election. Soon after starting her parliamentary career, she became involved in several controversial situations, and these increased with time in both number and severity. Guergis was forced to resign from the Cabinet of Canada and leave the Conservative Party caucus on April 9, 2010, pending a Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into "serious" but unspecified allegations regarding her conduct. While the RCMP investigated, and eventually concluded there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, Guergis continued to sit as an Independent Conservative in the House of Commons. She applied unsuccessfully for reinstatement to the Tory caucus. Guergis was defeated while running as an independent in the 2011 election by Kellie Leitch, her replacement as the riding's Conservative candidate. On December 22, 2011, Guergis launched a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several other people and organizations, including the federal Conservative Party, filed in Ontario Superior Court, over accusations of unfair and malicious treatment causing damage to her political career and reputation. Early life Guergis was born in Barrie, Ontario; and raised in nearby Angus, part of Essa Township, where her family has a history of political work. Her cousins David and Tony Guergis were the mayors of Essa and Springwater, her sister Christine Brayford was a municipal councillor in New Tecumseth, their uncle Edward was a municipal councillor in Essa from 1978 to 1985, and their grandfather George was a reeve of Essa from 1971 to 1974. Both David and Tony Guergis lost in landslide defeats in their bids for re-election in 2010. Guergis attended Georgian College in Barrie, where she completed an Ontario Real Estate program. After her graduation, she opened a bed-and-bath gift shop called "Final Touch" at the Rainbow Mall in Angus. She also worked as a fundraising volunteer for the Angus Food Bank and the Barrie Literacy Council, and was a Crisis Intervention volunteer for the Barrie and District Rape Crisis Centre for seven years. Guergis was a constituency assistant and executive assistant to Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Joe Tascona during this period. Provincial politics Guergis closed her