Oda’s journey

Conservative cabinet minister Bev Oda is embroiled in controversy – but not for the first time. The 66-year-old legislator has been at the centre of several scandals since she entered politics seven years ago.

Oda’s first love, however, was broadcasting.

Soon after graduating from University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts, she started at TV Ontario. She moved into commercial broadcasting in 1976.

Oda served as commissioner with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) from 1987 to 1993. Then, in 1999, she was appointed senior vice president of industry affairs at CTV.

Oda was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame in November 2003.

Oda enters politics

The following year, Oda ran for parliament as a Conservative candidate in the riding of Durham, Ont. She narrowly defeated Liberal Tim Lang.

Not long after, she called on parliament to acknowledge past unjust treatment of Chinese-Canadians. Subsequently, the Conservative government compensated about 30 Chinese-Canadians who had long ago paid the so-called “head tax” to enter the country.

In 2006, Oda was appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women and soon encountered some turbulence. Later that year, she cancelled a fundraiser after critics noted it was being organized by a vice-president at Canwest Media Works, which was lobbying her department.

Ode’s career wasn’t derailed by the scandal. She was re-elected, and was named Minister of International Cooperation in 2007.

But in 2008, she found herself in the middle of another controversy when she was accused of hiding $17,000 dollars worth of limousine expenses paid for by taxpayers.

However, that incident paled in comparison to the hullabaloo that erupted in 2011.

In February, she admitted to altering a memo to ensure the government did not give $7-million in funding KAIROS, a church-backed aid group.

Earlier, Oda had indicated the decision was not politically motivated, but was simply a routine decision analyzed by her officials at the Canadian International Development Agency.

“It’s clear to me that Ms. Ode’s word can no longer be trusted by Parliament,” Bob Rae, the foreign affairs critic, said at a news conference on Feb. 15.

Oda spoke at a parliamentary hearing studying the allegations against her on March 18. "I can understand that there may be misunderstandings," Oda told the committee. "I never misled or intended to mislead anyone."