Junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis made her first public appearance on Parliament Hill after she reportedly lost her temper and called P.E.I. a "hellhole," but only one opposition MP brought up the issue.
On Monday, Guergis did not attend question period in the House of Commons, but did appear before a committee meeting on the status of women.
During the committee meeting, Liberal Anita Neville was the only MP to refer to the incident last month at the Charlottetown airport.
"I am going to say to you there is an elephant in this room that no one is speaking to," Neville said to Guergis. "Do you truly believe that you have the credibility to speak to and for the women in this country?"
The junior minister responded by listing policies that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government has created for women.
"I believe in the good work I've been doing and I have faith," Guergis concluded.
Late last month, Liberal MP Wayne Easter received an anonymous letter outlining an alleged angry outburst by Guergis at Charlottetown airport on Feb. 19. It said she got into an argument with security staff and Air Canada employees, and refused to remove her shoes during pre-boarding screening for a Montreal-bound flight.
People in the "highest ranks of the Conservative Party" have asked the prime minister to drop Helena Guergis from her cabinet post, CTV Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported Monday night.
They say Guergis has offended working-class Canadians by her actions and damaged the party's reputation in Atlantic Canada -- especially P.E.I.
After the Charlottetown airport incident, Guergis issued a statement, apologizing for speaking "emotionally" to staff at the airport and describing her behaviour as inappropriate.
"Regardless of my workload and personal circumstances, it was not appropriate and I apologize to airport and Air Canada staff," the statement said.
Liberal MPs have been calling for Guergis to resign from cabinet since news of the episode became public.
But New Democrat MP Chris Charlton said it was inappropriate to ask Guergis about the matter during the committee meeting on Monday, because the MPs had gathered to discuss an unrelated issue.
"The court of public opinion has already been weighing in on this issue," Charlton said on CTV's Power Play. "She doesn't need us to add on to this. And if a committee is tasked with specifically looking at estimates in the budget that deal with status of women, then it is actually the committee's job to do that."
Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews said he didn't "know the facts," when asked whether Guergis had compromised the airport's security measures.
"My colleague the minister of transport has stood up, has indicated his position in the House, and I accept the minister of transport's comments on the matter," Toews said Monday afternoon.
Guergis is married to former Alberta Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer, who was facing charges of cocaine possession and drunk driving at the time. He later pleaded guilty to careless driving. The more serious charges were dropped.
With a reported from CTV's Robert Fife in Ottawa and files from The Canadian Press
