Grewal at it again

[Stratus]

Between the adscam with the Grits, and the Tories trying to bring down the government.  Found this article on the cbc website.

Think this guy should be fed to the lions.

Grewal's election expenses under scrutiny

Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal is at the centre of another political storm. CBC News has learned that he is being investigated by the RCMP over irregularities in his 2004 election expenses.

Grewal is already under police investigation after tape-recording his conversations with Liberals about crossing the floor. Now the Mounties are also investigating allegations from some of Grewal's contributors who say they don't know where their money went.

Barj Dhahan, a Vancouver businessman, donated to Grewal's campaign expecting to get a tax receipt, but he never did. "I ended up saying that, you know, I think there's something fishy here."

Dhahan gave Grewal a cheque for $600 for his 2004 re-election campaign. He says Grewal asked him to make it out to him personally. Grewal deposited the cheque in January 2004, but not to his riding association or his party.

"All I know is the back of the cheque is endorsed by Mr. Grewal," Dhahan said. "He is the best person to know where this money went."

Sarup Mann is another campaign contributor who never got a receipt. "If the [Conservative] party doesn't have the money, I don't know where that went. I don't have a tax receipt," he said.

Mann also gave $600 for Grewal's campaign. He says Grewal asked for the cheque to be made out to himself. Grewal deposited it. The party didn't get it.

"I've spoken to him a few times asking him for a tax receipt. He tells me that he would get back to me and that I will get my receipt, but a year and a half later I still don't have one. So that's a long time."

The Elections Act has strict rules about campaign donations. Every donor has to get a receipt.

The act also makes it illegal for campaign contributions to be deposited anywhere but in the campaign's account or the riding association's account. The act also says only the official agent can handle contributions and that all of them must be reported to Elections Canada.

In Grewal's campaign CBC News found five cases where these things don't seem to have happened.

Neither Mann nor Dhahan appears on the Elections Canada report listing Grewal's contributors. Mann also gave $1,800 to the campaign of Nina Grewal â “ Gurmant Grewal's wife, who's also an MP, but he never got a receipt for that, either.

Another cheque for $1,000 is from plumbing contractor Jagdeep Brar, who says it was a campaign donation but he never got a receipt. On the back, it seems to have been cashed, but it was not deposited to Grewal's campaign account as required by law.

Grewal said in a telephone interview that he turned over all contributions to his riding association, but his own official agent John Keith contradicted that, saying he never received the cheques in question, which is why he never reported them to Elections Canada or issued receipts.

The president of Grewal's Newton-North Delta riding association, Jim Holt, backed out of an interview at the last minute, saying his investigation is incomplete.

The Conservative party says two of the cheques went to a supplier for campaign expenses, although that's not the procedure required by the Elections Act.

As for the $1,000 cheque that was cashed, the party says it doesn't know who cashed it but it was not Grewal.

"This is really strange and unusual. We have one of our national parties and one of its candidates is accepting political contributions and there's no receipts. So it raises a lot of questions," said Dhahan.

Holt says the charges are part of a "political assassination campaign" by the Liberals against Grewal.



http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/07/11/grewal050711.html

cheers

Mik Mak Warrior

 

[Andyboy]

Yeah, lets feed him to the Lions! He seems guilty as hell from this article and we shouldn't bother with examining the facts of the case or even assumption of innocence, that would just take time and possibly effort! I vote we let reporters and politicians decide who is guilty and deal with it themselves. They can let us know what the offense and punishment were and we can go on with our lives without having to think about it at all. Who is with me?

Sometimes things that get reported are not true. Perhaps we should wait for the facts to be investigated before we jump to any conclusions? 

 

[jimmy742]

Read today's Vancouver Sun. They have a photocopy of an endorsed cheque by Grewal on the front page.  He got caught with this hand in the cookie jar, it would seem.

 

[Brad Sallows]

It's amazing what resources can be found to hound one guy who might be guilty of corrupt practices when our government really has a motivation to do so.  What a pity this level of watchdog enthusiasm isn't uniformly exhibited toward all elected and appointed people in high places.

 

[Andyboy]

Yes I saw the photocopy of what is purported to be the endorsed cheque on the CBC. I also saw the interview with the fellow who allegedly gave him the cheque. Fortunately we have as sytem in this country to determine if the evidence is real, fabricated, or non existant. For all I know he is guilty as hell, equally for all I know he isn't, the point is that by making the accusation and showing the evidence on national TV and in national papers the effect is to convict him in public opinion without due process which I would hope people here are smart enough to see through.

If he is guilty and it can be proven in court then he should fry. He should not, however, be fried on the basis of a photocopy of an endorsed cheque that appears in the Sun, the CBC, or any other media outlet. The notion of innocent unless proven guilty applies to this case as any other.

Does it not seem to anyone else awfully convenient for the Liberal Party and the Gov't? Anyone care to make a guess where this is headed? Are the tapes about to be proven authentic? Are the tapes about to be proven fake?

 

[The_Falcon]

Whats that Liberal maxim, Win power at all costs, Maintain power at all costs.  This would seem like the perfect case. 

 

[career_radio-checker]

If he is guilty and it can be proven in court then he should fry. He should not, however, be fried on the basis of a photocopy of an endorsed cheque that appears in the Sun, the CBC, or any other media outlet. The notion of innocent unless proven guilty applies to this case as any other.

Does it not seem to anyone else awfully convenient for the Liberal Party and the Gov't? Anyone care to make a guess where this is headed? Are the tapes about to be proven authentic? Are the tapes about to be proven fake?

don't be a hypocrite. Wait until Justice Gomery finishes his report before judging the liberals.

 

[Andyboy]

How have I judged the liberals and what does the Gomerey inquirey have to do with this issue?