Indo-Canadian MP quits, then retracts; ousted from caucus
TORONTO: Indo-Canadian MP Raj Grewal, who had announced he was quitting his seat in the House of Commons and then retracted the resignation, has been removed from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party caucus in Parliament.
The removal came as chief government whip Mark Holland tweeted he had confirmed in writing to the Speaker of the House “that Raj Grewal, MP for Brampton East, is not a member of the Liberal caucus”. The website for the chamber reflects the change as Grewal, 33, is shown as an independent MP, and his seating has been moved from the ruling party benches.
According to party officials in Brampton, a suburban township in the Greater Toronto Area, Grewal won’t be the party's candidate in the federal elections in October 2019 and the Liberals are planning on a fresh nomination contest to replace him.
The controversy of Grewal's gambling problems, which he has acknowledged led to him accumulating “personal debt in the millions of dollars”, has embarrassed the Prime Minister's Office, which said the MP was resigning his seat. It has denied prior knowledge of Grewal's problems, and this position was contested by former National Security Advisor Richard Fadden.
He told CTV in an interview, “All of the PMOs that I’ve had anything to do with have been very, very effective at knowing what their MPs are up to. It's one of their jobs, so I find it difficult to believe that they would not be aware it was a problem.”