High time to clear the air
Admittedly, it’s been hard to follow the erratic course of Raj Grewal’s troubled political career.
It all started last November, when Grewal, at the time the Liberal MP for Brampton East, announced his resignation after racking up millions in gambling debts, including at a casino near Parliament Hill.
But what is clear is that both Grewal and the Liberals have some serious explaining to do.
That’s because, so far, none of the answers to the questions that have been piling up since Grewal’s resignation pass the sniff test. That includes who knew what and when in the Liberal government.
To recap, just a few days after stepping down he surprised his colleagues by taking back his resignation, saying he would stay in his seat until at least the New Year while he sought treatment for “mental health issues with gambling.”
And, he added, as-yet-unidentified “friends” and “family” had quickly paid off his millions in debts. It doesn’t end there. Ten days ago, Grewal announced he would stay on as an independent MP after the Liberals refused to welcome him back into their caucus. And last week, the National Post reported that he took in as much as $600,000 at a $500-a-plate fundraiser held last April as he was struggling with his gambling debts.
By some accounts, a good take at a fundraiser that has a big-name speaker — which Grewal’s did not — is $100,000, and more commonly they might bring in $15,000. So that’s an enormous sum for a fundraiser and might call for congratulations if it didn’t raise even more questions. How did he raise so much money and where did it go? Unfortunately, that also remains unclear. Both Grewal and the Liberal party need to explain what happened here. Investigations that are already underway are likely to raise more questions or possibly even lead to charges.
After all, the RCMP began an investigation into Grewal’s gambling debts after receiving a report from FINTRAC, the federal agency that collects and analyzes financial information in an attempt to prevent money laundering.
If the optics of that aren’t bad enough, the Canadian Press has reported that the Ontario Provincial Police heard Grewal’s gambling debts being discussed on wiretaps in a broader investigation into other people suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing,
A source told CP in November that the MP’s name came to the attention of the OPP during an investigation of some “particularly shady guys” who might have been laundering drug money for an extremist group in the Middle East.
To top all that off, before his gambling problems came to light, Grewal was already under a conflict-of-interest investigation by the federal ethics commissioner. That began after he invited the chief executive of a law firm — from which he was receiving employment income — to events with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, cabinet ministers and other high-ranking government officials during a trip to India.
To wrap up, then: when one MP has drawn the attention of the RCMP, FINTRAC, the OPP and the ethics commissioner it is decidedly not business as usual.
Canadians deserve answers — now.