 Canada's embattled immigration minister, who once called herself the "minister of hopes and dreams," resigned Friday amid allegations that she promised an Indian pizzeria owner asylum if he would feed her campaign workers. Judy Sgro denied the charges, calling them "ridiculously false," but said she had to quit her Cabinet post "to be able to defend myself vigorously." Sgro is the first Cabinet minister to resign since Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government came to power seven months ago on promises of transparency. The opposition has seized on the scandal, using it to blast Martin's leadership as weak and ethically challenged. Sgro's ministry already was contending with allegations that a Romanian stripper was fast-tracked for Canadian immigration after she and family members volunteered to work on Sgro's election campaign. Those allegations are currently being investigated by the federal ethics commissioner and have prompted conservative opposition leaders to demand Sgro's resignation. Sgro, 60, insisted the comments by Harjit Singh in a federal affidavit were lies made in an attempt to prevent his deportation. |