Some Liberal MPs have publicly defended her, however, including Judy Sgro. Dhalla's lawyer suggested that the controversy was part of a partisan smear campaign orchestrated by her political opponents. Her lawyer later informed the media that one of the caregivers had made unfounded charges against another employer in the past. On the day after Dhalla's appearance, Agathe Mason, the executive director of a Toronto support group for immigrant women called Intercede, testified before the Commons committee that she had called Dhalla (rather than her brother) when one of the caregivers complained about her passport being withheld. Mason said that she informed Dhalla she was breaking the law and had 24 hours to return the passport, and that to her recollection the passport was returned the following day. Dhalla had previously rejected Mason's accusations, saying that she had never spoken with anyone at Intercede. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney denied the suggestion of political interference, saying he had no personal knowledge of the matter until it was reported by the media. His ministerial assistant Alykhan Velshi was later seen handing out documents at a meeting of the Immigration Committee in a bid to discredit Dhalla. Some believe Velshi's actions caused a chilling effect among civil servants in Kenney's department, preventing them from reviewing the case in a fair and open manner. Ultimately, no charges were filed. Dhalla asked the public and media to "hold judgment and give [her] family privacy". Attempted political comeback Dhalla was defeated by Conservative Parm Gill in the 2011 federal election. Dhalla organized a press conference on October 5, 2014, with the intention of declaring her candidacy to be the Liberal nominee in Brampton—Springdale for the 2015 federal election but she instead announced that, "After much thought and much reflection, I will not be running in the next federal election". At her announcement she was surrounded by election signs that had the name of the Liberal Party blacked out. She later told CTV News that after scheduling her press conference she was contacted by Liberal officials who tried to convince her not to run but she subsequently denied this, claiming instead that Liberal Party did want her to run, but that she decided at the last minute that she couldn’t commit to serving as an MP again. Electoral record Footnotes External links Ruby Dhalla website, on Wayback Machine, as of January 24, 2008 How'd They Vote?: Ruby Dhalla's