On a recent thread someone suggested that there were no people of South Asian origin in politics. Well, those that are, seem to get into the news for all the wrong reasons.
A case in point being Gurmant Grewal. First in the news for bribery allegations, then for allegations that the tapes that formed the crux of those bribery allegations were altered. Next was a security incident with Air Canada for which he is being investigated, now he's being investigated for immigration fraud.........hmm. Funny no one's discussed this as yet on the forum..........
Text of the article on today's Toronto Star follows.
Officials to probe Grewal's status
Were immigration rules followed?
MP says allegation is groundless
LES WHITTINGTON, ANDREW MILLS AND SUSAN DELACOURT
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA - Tory MP Gurmant Grewal might face deportation if it is proven he obtained immigrant status in Canada improperly, Immigration Minister Joe Volpe suggests.
He was commenting on an allegation by a former business partner of Grewal's that the British Columbia MP invested $50,000 in a Vancouver-area business in 1993 as part of the arrangements that allowed him to immigrate to Canada — and then got the money back the next day.
Yesterday was not any easy day for the Conservatives with a new poll showing them trailing the Liberals and leader Stephen Harper admitting they can't defeat the government.
Volpe wouldn't comment specifically on Grewal's situation. But, asked what happens to someone who comes into Canada on a promise to provide an investment and doesn't do so, Volpe said the government checks to ensure such immigrants meet "a series of performance markers."
If not, "they don't usually get to stay," Volpe told reporters, adding his department will be looking into the allegations.
But the B.C. MP told the Toronto Star that the story told by his former partner is groundless. "I deny those charges, and they have raised this issue before," he said in a telephone interview.
"I have three elections. Therefore, this is an issue they have been raising again and again.
"But every time, they are proven to be wrong. This time I will be taking legal action," said Grewal, who is on stress leave from his Conservative caucus duties.
The Conservatives continue to accuse Prime Minister Paul Martin's government of trying to lure Grewal and his wife, Nina, (also a Tory MP) to the Liberals with unethical promises of "rewards."
But the Tory outcry of indignation has become muted in recent days. With a new poll showing Conservatives third in Ontario and the Grewal saga sapping morale from the caucus, it was a glum-looking leader Stephen Harper who acknowledged yesterday he didn't have the strength in the Commons to bring down the Liberals.
"The numbers are clear," Harper said. "This government can't be defeated unless people who are elected as Liberals decide to defeat it" in an upcoming vote over same-sex legislation.
A Decima survey released to The Canadian Press yesterday showed the Conservatives trailing far behind the Liberals. Only six weeks ago, during the height of the sponsorship inquiry, the Tories led the Liberals.
The survey, taken last week, showed the Liberals vaulted to a 14-point lead over the Conservatives. Last month, the RCMP and the federal ethics commissioner were asked to examine accusations Grewal improperly sought money from people seeking admission to Canada.
Yesterday, questions about Grewal's immigration arrangements were being raised by Gurwinder Dhillon, a B.C. business person. Grewal and his family arrived in Canada in 1991 from war-torn Liberia via the United States and Britain.
Dhillon said that in 1992, Grewal was casting around for a way to fulfill the requirements of his being granted residency in Canada as an entrepreneur.
One of the requirements of that status is that within three years of arriving in Canada, an immigrant must invest at least $50,000 in a business that will create at least one new job.
So Grewal honed in on the Surrey Carpet Centre, a floor-covering store Dhillon partially owned.
Grewal landed a job as a carpet salesman, Dhillon said in an interview. But things began to go sour between Dhillon and his then-partner.
"I just wanted out," Dhillon said, adding Grewal "knew that I was going to get out and not get anything for it."
So Grewal proposed that he pay Dhillon $50,000 for his shares as long as Dhillon returned the money the next day, Dhillon said. On paper, it would show that Grewal had invested in a business and satisfy his immigration requirements, Dhillon said, but Grewal wouldn't actually have invested anything.
Dhillon agreed and the transaction was done. "I thought I was giving him a break by letting him become a Canadian," he said. "I kicked myself."
Under federal law, anyone who becomes a permanent resident or a citizen fraudulently can lose their status in Canada. In some circumstances, that could open up the possibility of being deported, according to officials.
But Peter Carver, an immigration law specialist at the University of Alberta, said any proceedings involving Grewal would likely be complex and lengthy because he is a Canadian citizen.
"If there was any issue of someone's obtaining permanent residence on conditions and then they failed to meet the conditions, then their permanent residence could have been revoked at the time," Carver said. But once a person becomes a citizen, it becomes more difficult, he added.
Grewal, who left Ottawa with Nina on a flight to Vancouver last night, has attracted national attention since he revealed in mid-May that he had secretly tape recorded discussions with senior Liberals.
The talks concerned the possibility that he and Nina might desert the Tories and provide badly needed support for the Liberals in the House of Commons. Grewal had offered to do so in exchange for promises of plum government jobs for himself and his wife.
The Conservatives said the tapes proved the government was acting unethically. But the Liberals said it was Grewal who approached them and that no promises of government jobs were ever made to the B.C. MP.
The Tories have been rocked by evidence that the tapes made public by Grewal were incomplete and edited. And, in a rush to ship some of the tapes to Harper's office, Grewal may have run afoul of Air Canada security policies at the Vancouver airport on June 4. Volpe said yesterday he couldn't talk about anything to do with Grewal's personal dealings because he is already caught up in another dispute with the B.C. MP.
One report I read said that this guy had some links or advised the Liberian leader at that time (forgetting his name, maybe charles taylor).....a notorious figure.
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I once made a mistake, but I was wrong about it.
Quote:
Orginally posted by crenshaw
Grewal, who left Ottawa with Nina on a flight to Vancouver last night, has attracted national attention since he revealed in mid-May that he had secretly tape recorded discussions with senior Liberals.
The talks concerned the possibility that he and Nina might desert the Tories and provide badly needed support for the Liberals in the House of Commons. Grewal had offered to do so in exchange for promises of plum government jobs for himself and his wife.
What I don't get is why they were making these deals in English. Had Grewal and Dosanjh done their bartering in Punjabi, they might've actually reached a deal.
Quote:
Orginally posted by PintoMusic
What I don't get is why they were making these deals in English. Had Grewal and Dosanjh done their bartering in Punjabi, they might've actually reached a deal.
There are tapes of Dosanjh and Grewal talking in Punjabi as well.
Still they didnt reach a deal
I hope no pizza guy shows up now saying one of them make immigration promises to him for free pizza...
What started out as politics as usual is now an even bigger embarrassment.
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Are you there?
Location: Ottawa (Now in Bangalore)
Posted on: 11-06-05 11:01:46
And now it has been alleged that he entered Canada (from Liberia) as a fake business class immigrant !!! The story never ends...
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