Grewal Chronology

2008-05-10T05:14:00.001-07:00

Nina wins

2006-02-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

http://www.thenownewspaper.com/issues06/014106/news/014106nn3.html

Jan. 25

Nina Grewal rides Conservative wave to Ottawa

Marisa Babic

As soon as the first poll results were flashed on the TV screen, it was clear the race between incumbent Conservative MP Nina Grewal and Liberal challenger Brenda Locke was going to be a tight one.

After a seesaw battle all night, at times with only 600 or 700 votes separating the two candidates, Grewal won the riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells by a slim margin.

Grewal received 14,577 votes and Locke trailed with 13,762.

In an interview with the Now after her victory, Grewal acknowledged the squeaker.

"I'm really humbled and honoured. The constituents of Fleetwood-Port Kells put their trust in me," Grewal said at her celebration party at the Days Inn. "I'm feeling great. I was confident right from the beginning that we would win this race."

Grewal wasn't feeling quite so confident earlier in the evening when she showed up at her campaign headquarters to support her volunteers and campaign team. She offered cautious comments about her personal chances of victory, although she was still musing about a possible Tory majority.

She was at a loss to explain the close race between her and Locke.

"I don't know. I have no idea," said Grewal who showed up at her campaign headquarters without her husband, Gurmant Grewal, who was embroiled in a bizarre taping controversy last summer.

She denied the scandal cost her votes.

"I have done lots and lots of door knocking and nobody came up with that taping thing," she said.

Gurmant Grewal, a three-term Reform and Conservative MP, was at the celebration party but Nina entered the room to cheering supporters on her own.

Grewal stepped aside for this election, claiming he wanted to spare his party further controversy. Although he was pleased by the election results, he admitted he was disappointed at not being part of the victory as his party finally tastes power. He believes he would have played "a significant role" in government.

With spare time on his hands, Grewal said he might be writing a book, possibly a tell-all about the taping scandal and other machinations in Ottawa.

Nina Grewal finessed a question about a possible cabinet post.

"Let's see. Let's hope for the best. I can't say much, it depends on Mr. Harper," she said.

Grewal acknowledged that Canadians' expectations have been raised with the Conservative victory, especially in the West, which has felt alienated over the years by centrist Ontario-Quebec governments. She rejected a suggestion her team lacks experience and insists they are up to the job of governing the country.

"We have all the experience. We are offering hope, vision for the country and we are a good alternative to the Liberals and we will give that hope and vision," she said.

Locke admitted it's tough to lose when you're so close.

She said her campaign team put up a good fight and warned Grewal she'll be back for a re-match in the next election.

"I'm definitely in it for next time," Locke said at her campaign headquarters, where supporters included Gulzar Cheema, who failed to win the riding in the 2004 election.

"I'll be working on delivering Fleetwood-Port Kells and I'll watching every step that Nina Grewal makes and she better do a better job or she'll have me and a whole bunch of other people to answer to.

"She's not getting another chance."

Locke said she'll use the time until the next election to build a stronger base of support.

Grewal supporters were jubilant when Conservative leader Stephen Harper was projected to become the next prime minister early in the evening while Grewal was still fighting for her seat.

"Excited - a western prime minister and a young man," said 82-year-old Jenny Leach who came to campaign headquarters to wait for the results with her husband Fred Leech, 83.

"He's a western prime minister for a change. That's what counts," said her hubby.

"It will mean we'll get an even break for a change."

NDP contender Barry Bell captured 10,961 votes. Independent candidate Jack Cook received 3,202 votes and Green party candidate Duncan McDonald garnered 1,059 votes.

David Sweet

2006-02-01T15:35:00.000-08:00

David Sweet Watch is a new blog following David Sweet

Globe and Mail: Harper failed to meet ethics czar on Grewal

2006-01-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

Harper failed to meet ethics czar on Grewal
By CAMPBELL CLARK
Thursday, January 26, 2006 Posted at 5:22 AM EST
From Thursday's Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper failed to meet federal Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro despite repeated attempts over four months to interview him for an inquiry into the Gurmant Grewal affair, Mr. Shapiro noted in a report released yesterday.

Despite a code of conduct that says it is an MP's duty to co-operate with an inquiry by the commissioner, Mr. Harper's office told Mr. Shapiro he could not find time in his schedule to answer his questions between August and November of last year. Instead, Mr. Shapiro spoke to an aide.

The report was ready last Friday but delayed to prevent accusations of political favouritism in the last days of an election campaign. In the report, Mr. Shapiro wrote that he wanted to ask Mr. Harper when he knew about the surreptitious recordings of conversations that Mr. Grewal, then a Conservative MP, had with senior Liberals about switching sides for a crucial no-confidence vote.

In the end, Mr. Shapiro concluded that it is unclear whether Mr. Grewal was really seeking a reward for crossing the Commons floor, or whether he wanted merely to entrap the Liberals -- but that at the very least, his actions flew in the face of the principles of the code of conduct for MPs.

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On the eve of a no-confidence vote last May 19 that the Liberals won by one vote, Mr. Harper's office released excerpts of recordings Mr. Grewal made, and asserted that Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, chief of staff to Prime Minister Paul Martin, offered him and his wife, Nina, also an MP, patronage jobs if they switched sides.

Two weeks later, under pressure, Mr. Grewal began releasing versions of all the conversations -- the first with 14 minutes missing. The last version showed that while Mr. Murphy and Mr. Dosanjh said he would be welcomed to the Liberals and did not rule out appointments, they refused to make any deal.

In his report, Mr. Shapiro cleared Mr. Dosanjh and Mr. Murphy of violating the code.

He said there is no evidence that they offered a specific inducement, such as a cabinet post or diplomatic appointment for Mr. Grewal or Ms. Grewal, who was re-elected on Monday. They both corroborated Mr. Martin's testimony that he had instructed them not to make any deal.

But Mr. Shapiro wrote that Mr. Dosanjh and Mr. Murphy should have stopped the "conversational dance" with Mr. Grewal -- who did not seek re-election in Monday's federal election -- when he repeatedly asked for a reward for switching sides.

Mr. Dosanjh said in an interview he was "relieved" that Mr. Shapiro found he did not violate the code of ethics, but he charged that Mr. Harper knew about and condoned the taping of conversations.

"It's troubling for me that the decision to actually go public with the tapes was made in the office of the then-Leader of the Opposition, now prime-minister-designate Harper," Mr. Dosanjh said.

"I shudder to think that a person who wants to be the prime minister of the country and is parroting words such as openness, integrity, honesty, accountability and transparency, hid from the Ethics Commissioner while he has an obligation as a member of Parliament to co-operate fully with the Ethics Commissioner."

A spokesman for Mr. Harper, William Stairs, noted that the Conservative Leader's former communications director, Geoff Norquay, met with the Ethics Commissioner, and said Mr. Harper did meet with members of the RCMP who also looked into the affair.

"I understand that Dr. Shapiro got all the information he needed from the members of our staff," he said.

Mr. Harper said publicly last spring that he did not speak to Mr. Grewal about his meetings with the senior Liberals until the morning of May 18, two days after the talks began.

He said he told Mr. Grewal not to tape a conversation with Mr. Martin if he met with him.

Although Mr. Grewal continued to tape conversations later that day, Mr. Harper defended his MP, saying that tape-recording conversations is legal.

The Ethics Commissioner wrote that Mr. Norquay corroborated that version of events, but that he was unable to speak to Mr. Harper despite "numerous attempts" to clarify that it was only on May 18 that Mr. Grewal told him "that he was tape recording conversations with the Liberals about crossing the floor and the offers that were being discussed."

The MPs' code of conduct calls for them to maintain high ethical standards and enhance trust in their integrity.

"Regardless of which is, in fact, the case, Mr. Grewal's actions were in my view entirely inappropriate and deserving at the very least, of reproach," he wrote.

Reached yesterday, Mr. Grewal said he had not yet read the Ethics Commissioner's report.

story about Gordon Stamp, campaign manager

2005-12-29T07:29:00.000-08:00

Riding offices ho-ho-hold the vote
Christmas Day just another workday for elections-office staff as voters cast special ballots across the country

Jason Markusoff and Alex Hutchinson, The Edmonton Journal; Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, December 26, 2005

Of all the traditional things there are to do on Christmas, voting is not one of them.

Changes in Canada's electoral law since the last winter campaign in 1979-80 stipulate that offices in all 308 ridings must be open every day from the time the writ is dropped until six days before the election, a spokesman for Elections Canada said.

And with no traffic, no lineups and mild weather in many areas of the country, at least some voters were taking advantage of the opportunity.

The Edmonton Centre returning office at Westmount Shopping Centre had a slow but steady stream of voters.
Karen Cuthbert and Glyn Williams are heading on a Thailand vacation early Tuesday, and needed to vote in advance. They were surprised at a 15-minute wait on Christmas Day.

"We could have gone yesterday (on Christmas Eve), but it would have been really busy at the mall," Cuthbert said. "This was a perfect time to go when it was quiet."

A Grant MacEwan College student grinned widely as he came out from behind the cardboard voting booth. "I couldn't think of anything more perverse to do on Christmas Day than go vote," he said, unwilling to offer his name, let alone his voting preference.

Jean Perley, who was filling out her ballot at the Ottawa-Vanier returning office, said: "I thought I was hearing things on the radio when they said I could come and vote today."

After phoning Elections Canada to make sure she had heard correctly, Perley and her husband, Alan, decided to exercise their franchise, since they will be in Florida on election day.

Many of the people taking advantage of the special ballot option are snowbirds like the Perleys, said Daniel Laurin, the supervisor of special ballots in Ottawa-Vanier.

"There are a lot of senior citizens living in this riding," Laurin said.

"Some of them are already in Florida; others will be heading there after Christmas."

The special ballot differs from the advance polls that will be held on January 13, 14 and 16, since candidates have until January 2 at 2 p.m. to declare their candidacy. As a result, no ballots are printed, and voters instead have to write in the name of their preferred candidate.

While this demands an additional measure of political awareness, voters needn't worry about getting the spelling exactly right.

"The idea is that the intention must be clear," an Elections Canada spokesman said.

"If it's badly written, but the intention is clear, then it will still count."

Josephine Stamp's vote in Edmonton East was a sort of Christmas gift to her new country. Originally from Indonesia, this was her first ballot as a Canadian citizen.

"Now is a day that I've waited for for a very long time," she said. "I'm doing my duty as a citizen."

She also brought coconut shortbread cookies for the returning office staff, a little gift from the riding's Conservative campaign. Stamp's husband, Gordon Stamp, is campaign manager for incumbent candidate Peter Goldring.

"I didn't believe they should be open today, so I thought this would be something nice to do," Josephine said.

Surrey Leader: Grewal trailed in poll, but it wasn't a factor

2005-12-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

Grewal trailed in poll, but it wasn't a factor

By Dan Ferguson Staff Reporter
Dec 02 2005

I could have won, insists Newton-North Delta MP

A Conservative Party of Canada poll carried out before Newton-North Delta MP Gurmant Grewal resigned showed the controversy-plagued MP faced an uphill battle for re-election. "I was running behind," Grewal told The Leader on Wednesday, the day after he announced he would not be running in the current election.

Grewal would not reveal the exact numbers in the recent poll, except to say he wasn't behind by much. "It was neck and neck."

Grewal said the poll results did not prompt his decision, adding he's won come-from-behind victories three federal elections in a row. "Every single time I was underestimated."

He said he made his decision to withdraw on Monday after learning the Liberals were planning to revive the controversy that erupted when he secretly taped discussions with senior Liberals about him joining the party.

It would be a "smear campaign," Grewal said, one that would twist the facts and paint him as a person of questionable ethics.

Grewal has said the Liberals sought him out and dangled plum jobs to get him to cross the Commons floor, while the Liberals claimed Grewal was the one who made the approach and angled for the postings.

He maintains there are no new revelations that could be used against him. "If I look in my closet, there is not enough inventory in it," he said.

Another factor in his decision was the delayed release of a report on the taping by Parliament's ethics commissioner. Grewal understood the report would be released before the election, and had heard rumours that it would be critical of the Liberals' conduct during the discussions. But without those findings, Grewal said he knew it would be easier for the Liberals to distract voters and divert attention from the governing party's sponsorship scandal. "The dogs (would) keep barking," he said.

Grewal admitted to some frustration, even anger at the way the taping controversy played out. He is proud of having a tough hide, but he tensed and his eyes narrowed for a moment when he was asked about Conservative leader Stephen Harper's decision to crack a joke during a parliamentary press gallery dinner in Ottawa about Grewal re-editing a video tape of a hockey game.

Then, he shrugged it off and said Harper was simply poking fun at news coverage, and he remains confident of his leader's support.

Beyond working "as a family member" to help his MP wife Nina get re-elected, he said he hasn't decided what comes next. He confirmed he has been sounded out about being a talk-show host on a local Punjabi-language radio station, but described it as a tentative offer and only one of several possibilities open to him.

"I'm an optimistic man," he said. "I have an MBA (master of business administration degree). I have options."

He said he may write a book about his experiences as one of the first South Asians to be elected to parliament in Canada.

Grewal is proud of his record, listing off accomplishments that include forcing the federal government to remove radioactive material from Surrey storage sites, campaigning to win legal protection for whistle-blowers and the elimination of taxes on taxes.

In nine years as MP, he said he never took a vacation.

The 47-year-old will not be eligible to collect a parliamentary pension until he turns 55.

"I used to think politics is a noble profession," he said. Now, he said the battering he took over the tapes and other issues has left him "somewhat cynical" about the way the political game is played.

(Unrelated: Cindy Silver, North Vancouver)

Harper jokes about Grewal's editing skills

2005-10-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

Over at CFRA radio is a story about last night's Press Gallery Dinner, an annual event at which politicians and press get together to roast one another.

Stephen Harper had what looks like the evening's best line:Harper added that the reason why Tory MP Gurmant Grewal missed the gala was because he was "at home taping the hockey game for his boss" and "editing it to make sure his team won."

Oct. 22, 2005: Harper makes joke about Grewal's editing skills

2005-10-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.cfra.com/headlines/index.asp?cat=1&nid=33203

Governor General Admits ... She's 'Hot'
Darren McEwen
Sunday, October 23, 2005 2:46 AM

Members of Parliament and Canada's new Governor General took time out of their busy schedules to roast each other and the media Saturday night. The annual Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner was held at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.

Governor General Michaelle Jean jokingly admitted the real reason why Prime Minister Martin selected her to be the GG.

"He chose me because I'm hot!" Jean said to a jovial audience.

But not everyone was bragging about their looks. "I'm probably the only person here who looks like their passport photo," said Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

Harper added that the reason why Tory MP Gurmant Grewal missed the gala was because he was "at home taping the hockey game for his boss" and "editing it to make sure his team won."

Prime Minister Martin, NDP Leader Jack Layton and even former prime minister Brian Mulroney addressed the crowd.

Oct. 4, 2005: Grewal speaks on whistle-blowing legislation

2005-10-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

From Hansard Oct. 4, 2005:

Mr. Gurmant Grewal (Newton—North Delta, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today on behalf of the constituents of Newton—North Delta to participate in the report stage debate on Bill C-11, the public servants disclosure protection act. Bill C-11 creates a procedure for the disclosure of wrongdoing in the federal public sector. If enacted, this bill would finally give Canada whistleblowing legislation, something other nations have had for decades.

When we look into the background of the bill, we see that this government has had 4,350 days to fulfill its promise and introduce effective whistleblowing legislation. That is how long this government has had.

The former government House leader, the hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, said in 1992, while in opposition, “Public servants must be able to report about illegal or unethical behaviour that they encounter on the job without fear or reprisal”. In his speech, the hon. member then went on to quote a Liberal caucus-approved document, “Public Sector Ethics”, calling for whistleblowing legislation.

However, once secure in office, the Liberals quickly forgot about their promises. In the end, it took the sponsorship scandal for this weak-kneed government to dust off its decade-old promise.

Meanwhile, we have witnessed billions of taxpayers' dollars disappear. The sponsorship scandal could have been avoided or at least quashed years ago if whistleblowing legislation had been in place. The same holds true for the HRDC boondoggle, the George Radwanski affair, the gun registry cost overruns and so on.

Public service integrity officer Edward Keyserlingk, referring to the sponsorship program scandal, said that whistleblowing legislation could have saved taxpayers millions of dollars by giving public servants “the confidence to come forward”.

It is little wonder no one blew the whistle on this scandal. In the absence of any whistleblowing legislation, even well-meaning public servants are reluctant to come forward because they know that making trouble will be a career ending move.

This government claims to support whistleblowers, but its actions indicate otherwise. Let us look at the case of the three scientists from Health Canada who were fired in June 2004: Margaret Haydon, Shiv Chopra and Gérard Lambert.

They were among this country's most outspoken whistleblowers. They raised issues such as the safety of a bovine growth hormone proposed for use in dairy herds to boost milk production, the influence of corporations in government drug approvals, and the need to keep animal parts out of the feed supply to keep beef safe. All three were fired on the same day for undisclosed reasons, which, Canadians were told, had nothing whatsoever to do with their whistleblowing. The government must think Canadians are hopelessly naive.

The Liberals have been boasting about Bill C-11 and everything they are doing for public servants who disclose wrongdoing. However, firing dissenting research scientists sends another message. It tells public servants that debate is discouraged in the federal government and no one's job is safe.

As far as Bill C-11 is concerned, in its original form the bill would have done more harm than good for whistleblowers. However, after a lot of hard work by Conservatives in committee, some of the major flaws have been corrected.

À (1010)

I do not want anyone to get me wrong. The bill is still far from perfect but thanks to the pressure applied by the Conservative Party, the government has relented and tabled amendments to create an independent commissioner to hear and investigate disclosures of wrongdoing. This was an essential change to the proposed legislation.

Other amendments have not been forthcoming, including: having the commissioner report directly to Parliament instead of to a minister; prohibitions of reprisals against those who make disclosures of wrongdoing to the public, media, police or anyone outside the narrow process prescribed in the bill; elimination of provisions to change the Access to Information Act to allow departments to refuse to release information about internal disclosures of wrongdoing for five years; and, the bill would still allow cabinet to arbitrarily remove government bodies from protection under Bill C-11.

The bill represents an improvement over the status quo but it remains clear that the government is more interested in managing whistleblowing than protecting and encouraging public servants who uncover evidence of wrongdoing.

It would be interesting to know if there could have been a better way to protect whistleblowers. Like the members for New Brunswick Southwest and Winnipeg Centre, as well as Senator Kinsella, I have for years been lobbying for a strong whistleblower protection. In October 2000, I introduced Bill C-508, the whistleblower human rights act, which was probably the first bill introduced in that session about whistleblowing protection.

My legislation, drafted with the help of actual whistleblowers, including Joanna Gualtieri, Brian McAdam, Robert Reid and many others, would have given people the confidence to come forward but the Liberals could not muster up the courage to support an opposition member's bill.

When the bill finally came to a vote in February 2003 as Bill C-201, because I had reintroduced the same bill, government members refused to lend their support to my initiative. If the government had been sincere about whistleblowing, Liberal members would have voted differently that day. We know the government did not want to pass the bill at that time. Instead, it revealed how phoney its promise had been.

The last time I participated in the debate on Bill C-11, I highlighted a good comparison of my bill, which was drafted by whistleblowers, to Bill C-11 at that stage. There was a big contrast. Many members on the Liberal side were nodding their heads in favour of some of the things that I was proposing in my bill.

The government needs to do more to encourage the reporting of wrongdoing and should stress that it is an important civic responsibility. In fact, it should be the stated duty of every employee to disclose any wrongdoing that comes to their attention.

Based on the experiences of the whistleblowers I have met, their careers and personal lives have been devastated. I believe an employee who has alleged wrongdoing and suffers from retaliatory action as a consequence should have a right to bring a civil action before a court. As well, allegations of wrongdoing should be rewarded like in California where whistleblowers are entitled to 10% of the money government saves as a result of their vigilance.

It is vital that the threat of employer retaliation be eliminated to encourage government employees to speak up. This will assist in curtailing the misuse of taxpayer dollars. Every day there seems to be new reports of corruption and scandal with the government that could be eliminated.

When I blew the whistle on whistleblowing, the Liberals had their ears plugged. Four years ago, in the face of government opposition, I introduced legislation which the Liberals refused to support at that time. Now is the time they should be serious about making this bill effective. Since it was first introduced some important amendments have been made but it is still flawed. I think we will let it pass so that a Conservative government will have the opportunity to make it stronger.

Aug. 12, 2005: Canoe. RCMP press release on completion of review of Gurmant Grewal's recordings

2005-08-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

RCMP will not launch criminal investigation into Grewal tapes

OTTAWA (CP) - The RCMP will not launch a criminal investigation into the Gurmant Grewal affair, saying there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a probe into allegations of bribery and related wrongdoing.

In a statement Friday, the Mounties said they have reviewed complaints surrounding surreptitious audio recordings the Conservative member of Parliament made of conversations with Liberal MPs last spring. The RCMP say they listened to the tapes, interviewed those involved and determined no criminal investigation is warranted.

"We're pleased that the RCMP has cleared Mr. Grewal," said Williams Stairs, the communications director for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

"We were confident all along of his integrity and the RCMP has confirmed our judgment," Stairs said.

Grewal, MP for the B.C. riding of Newton-North Delta, was unavailable for comment.

Grewal claimed that Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, had offered him and his wife Nina, also a British Columbia MP, positions if they joined the Liberals just before a crucial budget vote May 19.

Dosanjh said he was pleased to hear of the RCMP decision.

He was, however, critical of Harper's support of Grewal through what he called an "unseemly affair."

"I think it is important, however, for Canadians to reflect with concern on the fact that this sorry episode had its origins in the scheme by Mr. Grewal and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition to publicly besmirch my reputation and integrity with allegations of vote buying and bribery based on surreptitiously recorded tapes," Dosnajh said in a news release on Friday.

Also troubling Dosanjh was the fact that the tapes contained edits and splices.

Experts said the tapes may have been altered.

The minority government survived the vote with the support of the NDP and independent MPs.

Speaker Peter Milliken, a Liberal, broke the tie with his own vote, keeping Martin in power and averting a spring election.

In June, two Opposition parties asked for investigations into Martin's role in the secret-tapes affair.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe asked the RCMP to investigate, noting it is a criminal offence for an MP to sell his vote.

NDP Leader Jack Layton also asked Parliament's ethics commissioner to investigate Martin's role, too, after the commissioner, Bernard Shapiro, concluded that Murphy is not a public office holder and is therefore out of his jurisdiction.

"Mr. Murphy co-operated fully with the RCMP review and is pleased with the outcome," Melanie Gruer, a spokeswoman in the Prime Minister's Office, said Friday.

Grewal made headlines again in June when he was seen a Vancouver airport trying to get someone to take an envelope full of audio tapes to Ottawa.

He later went on stress leave.

The RCMP cleared him of wrongdoing in the airport incident but are still investigating complaints that contributors to Grewal's 2004 campaign have not received tax receipts for their money.

The Conservative party has said the cheques went to a supplier for campaign expenses.

Grewal has called allegations part of a Liberal party strategy to tarnish his image so the Liberals "can get off the hook (for) the taping incidents."

Dosanjh, a former NDP cabinet minister in British Columbia, said the donations were made "long before" he joined the Liberals and entered federal politics.

According to Elections Canada, a campaign contribution can be made directly to a candidate but receipts must be issued and funds must be deposited into the campaign or riding association account.

Aug. 12, 2005: RCMP press release on completion of review of Gurmant Grewal's recordings

2005-08-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the RCMP press release:

RCMP completes review of Gurmant Grewal's recordings

Ottawa, August 12, 2005 — The RCMP has completed its review of complaints of criminal wrongdoing with respect to MP Gurmant Grewal’s audio recordings.

Persons the RCMP believed may have relevant information were interviewed and the tapes were examined.

The RCMP has determined that no criminal investigation is warranted at this time. It has advised the complainants and those whose conduct was being examined that the review is now concluded.

For more information, please contact:
RCMP Media Relations
(613) 993-2999

Aug. 12, 2005: National Post: RCMP will not investigate Grewal tapes

2005-08-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

No criminal investigation into tapes

Canadian Press
August 12, 2005

CREDIT: CP PICTURE ARCHIVE/Tom Hanson
Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal stands in the House of Commons.

OTTAWA -- The RCMP will not launch a criminal investigation into the Gurmant Grewal affair, saying there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a probe into allegations of bribery and related wrongdoing. In a statement Friday, the Mounties said they have reviewed complaints surrounding surreptitious audio recordings the Conservative member of Parliament made of conversations with Liberal MPs last spring. The RCMP say they listened to the tapes, interviewed those involved and determined no criminal investigation is warranted.

"We're pleased that the RCMP has cleared Mr. Grewal," said Williams Stairs, the communications director for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper. "We were confident all along of his integrity and the RCMP has confirmed our judgment," Stairs said.

Grewal claimed that Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, had offered him and his wife Nina, also a British Columbia MP, positions if they joined the Liberals just before a crucial budget vote May 19. Experts said the tapes may have been altered.

The minority government survived the vote with the support of the NDP and independent MPs.

Speaker Peter Milliken, a Liberal, broke the tie with his own vote, keeping Martin in power and averting a spring election.

In June, two Opposition parties asked for investigations into Martin's role in the secret-tapes affair.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe asked the RCMP to investigate, noting it is a criminal offence for an MP to sell his vote.

NDP Leader Jack Layton also asked Parliament's ethics commissioner to investigate Martin's role, too, after the commissioner, Bernard Shapiro, concluded that Murphy is not a public office holder and is therefore out of his jurisdiction. "Mr. Murphy co-operated fully with the RCMP review and is pleased with the outcome," Melanie Gruer, a spokeswoman in the Prime Minister's Office, said Friday.

Grewal made headlines again in June when he was seen a Vancouver airport trying to get someone to take an envelope full of audio tapes to Ottawa. He later went on stress leave. The RCMP cleared him of wrongdoing in the airport incident but are still investigating complaints that contributors to Grewal's 2004 campaign have not received tax receipts for their money. The Conservative party has said the cheques went to a supplier for campaign expenses.

Grewal has called allegations part of a Liberal party strategy to tarnish his image so the Liberals "can get off the hook (for) the taping incidents." Dosanjh, a former NDP cabinet minister in British Columbia, said the donations were made "long before" he joined the Liberals and entered federal politics. According to Elections Canada, a campaign contribution can be made directly to a candidate but receipts must be issued and funds must be deposited into the campaign or riding association account.

Aug. 12, 2005: CP. RCMP will not investigate Grewal tapes

2005-08-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

RCMP will not investigate Grewal
Friday, August 12, 2005 Updated at 5:48 PM EDT
Canadian Press

Ottawa — The RCMP will not launch a criminal investigation into the Germant Grewal affair.

The Mounties say they have reviewed complaints of criminal wrongdoing with respect to audio recordings the Conservative member of Parliament made of conversations with Liberal officials last spring.

The RCMP say they listened to the tapes and interviewed the principals involved and determined no criminal investigation is warranted.

Mr. Grewal claimed that Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, had offered him and his wife Nina, also an MP, patronage positions if they joined the Liberals just before an important budget vote May 19.

Mr. Grewal made headlines again in June when he was spotted at a Vancouver airport trying to get someone to take an envelope full of audio tapes to Ottawa. He later went on stress leave.

For a discussion of this and other stories related to Gurmant Grewal, his tapes, and other scandals follow this link.

Aug. 4. 2005: Winnipeg Sun satire

2005-08-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

Winnipeg Sun (Manitoba)
August 4, 2005 Thursday
SECTION: EDITORIAL/OPINION; Pg. 11

LENGTH: 537 words
HEADLINE: CANADIAN POLITICS A GREWAL WORLD
BYLINE: BY ROSS MCLENNAN

Gurmant Grewal's assistant, a large man by the name of Benjamin Farnsby, introduced me to the controversial MP and then left us alone in the hotel room. I shook hands with Grewal, and we sat down at a small table.

"Ie-k, do, iqMn ... " Grewal said in a low voice.

"Sorry?" I said.

"Did you bring a tape recorder?" he said.

"Er ... Yes, I did."

"Uh-huh. Lucky I asked, eh?"

"It's standard equipment for an interview."

"Lemme see it."

"OK," I said. "I was just about to put it on the table."

"Sure you were," he said. I gave him the tape recorder. "It's very small," he said. "Small enough to fit right into your pocket, where it can't be seen."

"Well, the big, 125-pound, war-surplus two-reeler I usually lug around with me is in the shop right now," I said, "along with the Enigma machine I use to keep the competition from stealing the stories I file."

"Now you're being a wise guy," he said.

"I take them to interviews in a suitcase and tell everybody I'm going for an accordion lesson after we're finished. That way the suckers don't know I'm secretly recording them."

"Funny you should mention Enigma." Grewal said. "I told Stephen we should use those machines for secret party communications. If they worked for the Germans, they should work for us."

"They didn't work for the Germans," I said. "The British broke the code."

"Yes, but I doubt they handed it over to the Liberals."

"Does Stephen Harper still talk to you?" I said. Grewal smiled and fingered his tie clip.

"Let's just say that things have been said which allowed me to persuade Stephen how indispensable I am to the party," he said.

"Why are you wearing that tie clip?" I asked. Grewal laced his fingers together over the tie clip and sat back in his chair, pretending to relax.

"Tie clip?" he said.

"Yeah, the one you just hid under your hands."

He smiled and shrugged. "Why does anyone wear a tie clip?" he said.

"To hold down his tie."

"Well, then."

"You're not wearing a tie."

He didn't move. "Yes, I am," he said.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not. Are you wired?"

"Of course not," he said. "Dammit, Farnsby," he muttered, "you forgot the tie."

"Farnsby? You're talking to Farnsby? He's not even in the room."

"Oh ... right ... "

"Put that tie clip on the table," I said. Grewal took the tie clip off his shirt and put it on the table. I took off one of my shoes and smashed it down on the tie clip. There was a bellow of pain from outside the room, and Farnsby came crashing through the door, a set of earphones dangling around his neck.

"That's it, Grewal," he shouted. "No more tapes. No more recordings. I don't care what you have on that Harper tape about how much he hates making small talk with 'those bloody barbecue bozos,' I'm through, finished -- ".

Grewal held up his hand and smiled at Farnsby. "Ben, Ben," he said. "Have you forgotten about your ill-advised tete-a-tete with Carolyn Parrish?" Farnsby raised a shaking fist, opened and closed his mouth soundlessly and then turned abruptly and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Now, Mr. Swakhammer," said Grewal, "shall we continue with the interview?" He leaned forward, fiddling with the top button on his shirt. "Only, I wonder if you could speak a little louder. My hearing isn't as good as it used to be."

NOTES: Winnipeg Sun ace investigative reporter Emile Swakhammer has filed this exclusive interview with B.C. Conservative MP Gurmant (Tape Worm) Grewal ...

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For a discussion of this and other stories related to Gurmant Grewal, his tapes, and other scandals follow this link.

August 4, 2005: G&M: Tories lose bid to rein in MP over Grewal

2005-08-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Tories lose bid to rein in MP over Grewal
B.C. member won't retract comments about colleague's 'antics,' sources say
By BRIAN LAGHI
Thursday, August 4, 2005 Page A10
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF; With a report from Gloria Galloway

The Conservative Party leadership tried and failed to extract a retraction from one of their B.C. MPs, who said recently that the "antics" of controversial MP Gurmant Grewal are hurting the party.

Sources said that John Cummins, MP for the riding of Delta-Richmond East, was asked by party Whip Rob Nicholson to sign a statement renouncing comments he made in a radio interview last month, in which he said Mr. Grewal's "antics have hurt the party." Mr. Cummins told Mr. Nicholson that he would not sign the retraction, the sources said.

In a brief interview, Mr. Cummins would neither confirm nor deny he was asked to retract his remarks, saying the issue was two weeks in the past. Mr. Nicholson also would not comment.

However, the issue will almost certainly come up for discussion at today's Tory summer caucus meeting in Toronto.

Although no other Tory MPs have spoken against Mr. Grewal in the controversy over tapes he made of discussions with senior Liberals about crossing the floor, some, such as deputy leader Peter MacKay, refused to support him on the matter.

The Grewal controversy has bubbled beneath the surface since the member for Newton-North Delta secretly taped two senior Liberals -- Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Paul Martin's chief of staff, Tim Murphy -- during discussions to get him to cross to their side of the House.

Last week, Mr. Grewal admitted in a written statement that Stephen Harper told him to stop taping talks with senior Liberals about leaving the Tories, a demand that was apparently made before Mr. Grewal's taped meeting with the senior Liberals.

Mr. Harper has not commented on the matter, but the party leaders continue to be sensitive about it, seeking the retraction from Mr. Cummins and, most recently, asking Mr. Grewal for public clarification of statements about the taping that he made to a newspaper in his riding.

One MP told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Harper's defence of Mr. Grewal has harmed the party's efforts to criticize the Liberals for ethical lapses.

"If you don't deal with it, it makes it much more difficult for you to turn around and criticize the government for its actions. And I think that's the issue," the MP said. "If Grewal was a minister they'd be going after him like there was no tomorrow."

But Peter Van Loan, a Conservative MP from Ontario, said that he does not believe Canadians are focused on the Grewal saga.

"I have spoken to literally thousands of people, and I don't think Mr. Grewal's name has come up once," said Mr. Van Loan, who has been going door to door in his York-Simcoe riding since the Commons broke for the summer.

He said most of the discussion at today's meeting is likely to centre on ways to communicate party policy before the coming election. "I think there's an increasing curiosity and appetite to hear what we would like to do in government."

The Conservatives continue to trail the Liberals in most opinion polls by about 10 percentage points. Those trends are also reflected in the voting intentions in British Columbia, a key part of the Tories' western stronghold, although polling experts said the sample sizes in most of those polls are too small to count on.

Tim Woolstencroft, managing partner of polling firm the Strategic Counsel, said the increasing popularity of the New Democrats may be eating into Tory support.

He added that the Tories may find themselves having to spend more time in B.C. in the next campaign than they would like. To win the election, Mr. Harper must expand the party's popularity in Ontario, an increasingly difficult prospect if he is obliged to protect the party's heartland seats in B.C.

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For a discussion of this and other stories related to Gurmant Grewal, his tapes, and other scandals follow this link.

August 1, 2005: The Hill Times on Grewal's clarification of Harper's role

2005-07-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

At the bottom of this story in the Hill Times is a summary of what Grewal said about Harper's role.

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal (Fleetwood-Port Kells, B.C.), who has been under a cloud of controversy since May over controversial and secretly-taped discussions with Tim Murphy, chief of staff to the Prime Minister, and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh (Vancouver South, B.C.), again made national headlines last week. Mr. Grewal has said he taped the discussions in order to prove the Liberals were trying to buy votes, but the Liberals say Mr. Grewal was selling his loyalty.

Last week, through the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition, Mr. Grewal stated in an official press release that Mr. Harper told him to stop the taping after Mr. Grewal said he had the possibility of taping Prime Minister Paul Martin (LaSalle-Émard, Que.).

Mr. Grewal issued the statement to clarify a Surrey Leader news report in which he suggested that Mr. Harper had approved the efforts to tape Mr. Murphy and Mr. Dosanjh, but not the Prime Minister.

In last week's statement, Mr. Grewal said that he informed Mr. Harper of what he was doing, but that "no approval was sought or given."

"An interview published in this week's Surrey Leader concerning the taping of conversations between myself, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, Tim Murphy, regarding the attempt to purchase my Parliamentary support in the spring of 2005 contains a statement to the effect that Conservative leader Stephen Harper gave his permission for me to tape these conversations. Once I had begun taping I informed Mr. Harper that I was doing so. No approval was sought or given. Subsequently when I told Mr. Harper that I had an opportunity to meet with and tape the prime minister, Mr. Harper told me to end the taping process."

It's expected that this issue will be discussed at this week's national caucus meeting.

Meanwhile, Jim Holt, president of the Newton-North Delta Electoral District Association, sent out a letter on July 14 to members of the riding association and to the constituents, saying that Mr. Grewal has been unfairly treated by the media and urged party members to write letters to local news organizations and radio talk shows to express their concerns about the coverage of the story.

"Although the media might not publish or broadcast your comments, I urge you to write a letter to the mainstream Vancouver newspapers, or call in to the local radio talk shows, and let them know just how angry you are at what has transpired," Mr. Holton wrote in his letter.

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For a discussion of this and other stories related to Gurmant Grewal, his tapes, and other scandals follow this link.

Surrrey Leader: Grewal, leader at odds over secret taping

2005-07-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

Grewal, leader at odds over secret taping

By Dan Ferguson and Jeff Nagel
Jul 31 2005
Recordings continued despite leader's order to stop

The day after he says he was ordered to stop secretly recording conversations with Liberal party brass, Gurmant Grewal made at least two more tapes The Newton-North Delta MP said that Conservative party Leader Stephen Harper told him to "end the taping process" during a meeting in which Grewal raised the possibility of recording Prime Minister Paul Martin

The meeting with Harper, according to previous statements by both Grewal and Harper, took place on May 17. Yet Grewal's own records, posted publicly on his website, indicate that on May 18, the day after he said Harper ordered him to cease taping, he carried a hidden recording device into a meeting with Martin's chief of staff, Tim Murphy. The same records show Grewal also recorded at least one telephone conversation with a senior Liberal on May 18.

Grewal has said he made the tapes to prove his claim that the Liberals were engaging in "vote buying" by offering cushy appointments to induce him and his MP wife Nina to switch parties and vote with the minority Liberal government. During an interview with The Leader published last Wednesday, Grewal said that Harper knew and approved of his taping activities, and only forbade him from recording the prime minister.

Grewal said when he proposed secretly taping Martin should they meet, Harper initially said yes, then changed his mind.
"... first he (Harper) said, okay go ahead and do it, until I tell you otherwise. Then ... immediately in the same discussion he said, 'Gurmant, I think it's not a good idea.' And I agreed with him." The day after the interview appeared in print, Grewal issued a written "clarification" in which he said that Harper did know about the taping, but did not specifically approve the activity

"Once I had begun taping I informed Mr. Harper that I was doing so," Grewal said. "No approval was sought or given. Subsequently, when I told Mr. Harper that I had an opportunity to meet with and tape the prime minister, Mr. Harper told me to end the taping process."

William Stair, a spokesman for the Conservative party leader, appeared to contradict Grewal's claim that Harper was informed of the taping before the May 17 meeting. "That isn't true," Stairs told The Leader on Friday.

"They spoke (about the taping for the first time) on the 17th of May."

Stairs declined to discuss Grewal's apparent contravention of Harper's stop-taping order. "I don't know what sort of conclusion you can draw from that," Stairs said when asked about the May 18 recordings. "This is an issue between the two of them (Harper and Grewal)."

Stairs offered a muted defence of Grewal, saying the MP has "done nothing wrong that anyone has proven."

July 29, 2005: G & M report that Grewal ignored Harper order

2005-07-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

The Globe and Mail :

By BRIAN LAGHI
Friday, July 29, 2005 Updated at 5:00 AM EDT
From Friday's Globe and Mail

Ottawa — Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal continued to secretly tape talks with a Liberal Party official over the possibility of switching parties last May even though he says his own leader told him to stop.

In a statement released yesterday, the British Columbia MP said that Stephen Harper told him to stop the taping after Mr. Grewal said he had the possibility of taping Prime Minister Paul Martin.

"When I told Mr. Harper that I had an opportunity to meet with and tape the Prime Minister, Mr. Harper told me to end the taping process," Mr. Grewal said in the statement.

According to the dates of conversations on his own website, Mr. Grewal met with and taped a conversation with Tim Murphy, Mr. Martin's chief of staff, the next day.

Yesterday's admission suggests that Mr. Harper has continued to keep Mr. Grewal in the party even though the MP appears to have disobeyed him.

Mr. Grewal issued the statement yesterday as a clarification to an interview he gave to a B.C. newspaper.

The newspaper story said Mr. Harper had approved the efforts to tape Mr. Murphy and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh over talks that would have seen him move to the Liberal side of the House.

In his clarification yesterday, Mr. Grewal said he informed Mr. Harper of what he was doing, but that "no approval was sought or given."

Mr. Harper himself told the media earlier this year that he spoke with Mr. Grewal on May 17, the day before the last Murphy taping, when the Conservative Leader was in Regina meeting the Queen during her visit to Western Canada.

Mr. Harper did not say at that time whether he forbade Mr. Grewal to continue to tape.

He said he did not know that Mr. Grewal continued to make recordings, but defended Mr. Grewal all the same, saying Mr. Murphy should have known that all conversations are on the record.

He also said he was not aware that Mr. Murphy had been recorded subsequent to his May 17 chat with Mr. Grewal.

"My view in this business is that you assume you're on the record at all times," he said.

Asked yesterday if Mr. Grewal had broken the rules set down by the leader, a spokesman for Mr. Harper said that would be up to the party's MPs to decide.

"That's a decision that he and the caucus will have to make -- what to do," William Stairs said. "I can't speak for him."

Mr. Stairs said the real story is the role Mr. Dosanjh and Mr. Murphy played in the drama, and their discussions of a possible reward for Mr. Grewal should he cross the floor. Mr. Grewal could not be reached for comment last night.

Meanwhile, the Conservative caucus meets next week and the Grewal affair is almost certain to continue to be among the discussions. Some MPs have quietly expressed concerns that Mr. Grewal has become a drag on the party in British Columbia.

The RCMP and the Ethics Commissioner are investigating the taping matter, which led to Mr. Grewal leaving the Commons for a short time on stress leave.

The B.C. MP has been involved in a number of controversies over the past few months, which he says are attributable to a Liberal smear campaign. In the B.C. article, he said he has every intention to run in the next election.

July 27, 2005: Letter to the Now: Grewal has no credibility

2005-07-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

MP claims no involvement; counts herself in on plan

The Editor,

Re: "Nina stands by her man," the Now, July 23.

Nina Grewal's statement that her husband's actions in making the tapes was because: "we (note, "we") wanted to catch them red-handed," contains not a molecule of credibility.

If even a half-wit had planned a "sting" operation such as Gurmant Grewal now claims he did, he would have ensured that others were aware of his plans so his motives could be confirmed later. He would, for example, have signed an affidavit outlining his plan and had it notarized for date. He, Gurmant Grewal in this case, would certainly have told his MP wife although she now claims (despite the "we") that she had nothing to do with the tapes. The after-the-event claim of a "sting," is clearly bogus.

The question becomes: Is either of the Grewals an appropriate representative of large numbers of Canadian citizens in the parliament of the nation, even with the loyal support of the Conservative party?

Dave Poole, Surrey

July 15, 2005: Grewal donor acknowledges ties to Dosanjh

2005-07-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

Grewal donor who wants tax receipt acknowledges ties to Dosanjh
Beleaguered MP under investigation over '04 campaign

Nicholas Read
CanWest News Service

Friday, July 15, 2005

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver businessman who is demanding a tax receipt for money he gave Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal two years ago says he is a member at large of Liberal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh's riding association.

Sarup Mann insisted that has nothing to do with his now public demands that Mr. Grewal provide him with tax receipts for a $600 donation he made to Mr. Grewal in 2003 and a $1,800 donation he made to Mr. Grewal's wife, Nina, in 2004.

Mr. Grewal is currently being investigated by the RCMP for donations made to his 2004 re-election campaign.

Mr. Grewal has said the donations were made before new election financing rules came into force and called this latest controversy the work of a smear campaign by the Liberal party, which Mr. Mann denies.

''We've been trying to get a tax receipt from him since February of 2003, and Mr. Dosanjh wasn't even in the picture then,'' Mr. Mann said in a phone interview.

''The fact that I'm a Liberal and a member of the riding association doesn't mean I don't support other people as well.''

Mr. Mann's admission follows one from Barj Dhahan, who is also demanding a tax receipt for a $600 donation he made to Mr. Grewal in 2003, that Mr. Dhahan and his wife hosted a coffee-and-dessert party for Mr. Dosanjh during the last federal election.

Mr. Dhahan admitted that again yesterday, but said he is not a member of any federal party, including the Liberal party. He became a member of the B.C. Liberal Party, he said, when he understood that former Vancouver mayoral candidate Jennifer Clarke would be the Liberals' candidate in Vancouver-Langara.

Instead, Carole Taylor ran for the Liberals in that riding and is now B.C.'s Finance Minister.

''I'm not a Reform or Canadian Alliance,'' Mr. Dhahan said. ''I'm not a Liberal or an NDPer. The matter is very simple. All we want is for tax receipts to be given for the donations we made.''

He said he hosted the party for friends and neighbours in Mr. Dosanjh's Vancouver South riding simply as a way for them to get to know the now-Health Minister.

''People who came, they're not Liberals,'' he said. ''We went through our list of friends and people we know who live in that riding, and invited them. That's all we did.''

But B.C. Conservative MP John Reynolds says it sounds suspicious to him.

''It seems to me rather strange that these gentlemen, one who is a member of [Mr. Dosanjh's] riding association and the other who had a coffee party for Mr. Dosanjh, would all of a sudden come out with these accusations,'' Mr. Reynolds said.

The circumstances of all three donations -- none of which was reported to Elections Canada -- are now being investigated by the RCMP.

Mr. Grewal said in an earlier interview that he was not able to issue receipts for cheques made out to him personally because ''I do not have a charitable organization for Gurmant Grewal.'' He added Mr. Mann and Mr. Dhahan should have known that.

Both Mr. Mann and Mr. Dhahan reiterated yesterday that if it weren't for the fact that news of their donations was leaked to the media, the matter never would have been made public.

They also denied any involvement in a Liberal party plot to discredit Mr. Grewal.

''Mr. Dosanjh wasn't even in the picture when he started dealing with him [Grewal],'' Mr. Mann said.

''I have stated from the first day that there's no plot,'' Mr. Dhahan said. ''I'm not involved in a plot. I asked for a receipt. I was promised a receipt and it never came.''

July 14, 2005: Tory MP attacks Grewal's 'antics'

2005-07-14T04:08:00.000-07:00

From the Globe and Mail:

Tory MP attacks Grewal's 'antics'
Surrey politician falls under renewed fire as Mounties interview campaign donors
By PETTI FONG
Thursday, July 14, 2005 Updated at 5:17 AM EDT
From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Vancouver — Gurmant Grewal has been cleared by the Conservative Party of wrongdoing but a continuing RCMP review into political contributions given to the Surrey MP and criticisms from a fellow MP and organizers continue to follow the controversial politician.

John Cummins, MP for the riding adjacent to Mr. Grewal's, said there was a clear mishandling of funds.

"Absolutely, no doubt, Mr. Grewal's antics have hurt the party," Mr. Cummins said on the Rafe Mair radio show. "When you start getting cheques made out to you personally, you're asking for trouble. Is that personal income or is that money going to the constituency association? If it's personal income, is it money being used to influence you and the decisions you make?"

Conservative MP John Reynolds, chair of the national campaign, said Mr. Grewal has been targeted because the MP tried to discredit the Liberals with his allegations they tried to recruit him to join their party.

RCMP officers interviewed one of the two men yesterday who say they did not receive tax receipts for political contributions they made to Mr. Grewal in late 2003 and the Conservative party has told them there is no record of the money they donated.

The contributors say that Mr. Grewal asked them to make the cheques out to him personally and assured them they would get a receipt for the $600 each donated.

The Conservatives and Mr. Grewal say the contributors are not entitled to a tax receipt under current legislation. It wasn't until January, 2004, that parties were required to give tax receipts.

"In those days [before the changes], every MP received cheques for their nominations or when they were between elections that did not qualify for tax receipts."

Mr. Cummins, the MP for Delta-Richmond East, said he has always had contributions made out to his constituency association, and Vancouver Island North Conservative MP John Duncan said he has never received cheques from donors made out to him.

"I've never done that because I never even thought of doing it. I knew it was allowed under the rules, but I just wanted to stay away from it. I thought it made it much easier to explain if everything was clearly in the constituency association account," Mr. Duncan said.

Mr. Duncan said the Conservative Party has addressed most of the concerns about the cheques that donors say they sent without getting a receipt.

Four of the cheques did not qualify for a tax receipt, a fifth was given an official receipt, and Mr. Duncan said mystery surrounds a sixth cheque made out to Mr. Grewal. Although the back of the cheque shows a deposit in Vancouver with Mr. Grewal's signature, the Conservatives have records that clearly show the Surrey MP was in Ottawa that day, Mr. Duncan said.

New Westminster-Coquitlam-Burnaby MP Paul Forseth said Mr. Grewal, who was not talking to reporters yesterday, has been cleared in every allegation of wrongdoing in the past.

"He has tried to do everything properly," Mr. Forseth said. "The Liberals keep trying to make him look bad and they keep stirring things up."

Mr. Grewal also received support from Don McCrimmon, president of the Langley Conservatives riding association, and Menno Froese, president of the Abbotsford riding association.

"What it does reflect is how easy it is to take away the focus from where the issues really are," Mr. McCrimmon said.

Mr. Froese, whose riding includes a large and growing politically influential Indo-Canadian population, said the issue has dominated discussions within the Indo-Canadian community.

"Mr. Grewal is four constituencies away from our constituency, and it hasn't been an active issue among supporters here," Mr. Froese said. "But I hear that it's quite controversial on the Indo-Canadian radio shows."

Manjit Dhillon, who is also on the Abbotsford riding executive and an organizer among the Indo-Canadian community in the Fraser Valley, said Conservative Party members have told him they want quicker action from Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

"We are tired of seeing every few days something popping up involving Gurmant Grewal. There are 300 MPs, why does everything have to involve Mr. Grewal? For the community and the party's sake, we hope to stop seeing that," Mr. Dhillon said. "We also want Mr. Harper to be more decisive about whether he is supporting Mr. Grewal or not."

For more on Grewal and the Grewal tapes, see Buckets of Grewal.

The Now on Grewal's campaign finance

2005-07-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Gurmant Grewal in new pickle

Brooke Larsen

Now Contributor

Trouble has reared its ugly head again for Gurmant Grewal.

Two Vancouver men say they made donations to Grewal's 2004 re-election campaign, but didn't receive receipts.

Barj Dhahan said he made a $600 donation to Grewal's campaign in December 2003, and has since phoned Grewal's office numerous times asking for a receipt.

"I gave him the donation but I didn't get the receipt. I don't think that's acceptable," he said.

Sarup Mann, who also made a donation to Grewal, said he called the MP several times asking for a receipt but got nowhere.

Mann said that in 2003 he handed Grewal a cheque for $600 for his campaign, and in July 2004 he gave Grewal another $1,800 cheque for Nina Grewal's campaign.

But the Newton-North Delta MP says both men asked if they could make their cheques out to Grewal personally, not to his campaign, so that their names would not appear on lists of campaign supporters, which are public information.

"They didn't want to be associated with my campaign or the party, so they made the cheque out to me, Gurmant Grewal," he said.

Grewal says he took the cheques, endorsed them, and used them to pay for a party at the Grand Taj, a Surrey banquet hall.

"The cheques were used for a Gurmant Grewal appreciation party - for food, the banquet hall, the entertainment."

Grewal said he wasn't required to issue receipts to Mann and Dhahan because their donations were made before the official start of the campaign period.

According to Elections Canada' s website, candidates are required to issue receipts to all donors, but only after their candidacy is confirmed.

But Grewal may have violated another campaign rule.

In a section titled "Important reminders for candidates and their official agents," the Elections Canada website says all candidates should "ensure that all money is first deposited into the campaign bank account."

Grewal said the cheque made out to Nina Grewal's campaign was deposited in the campaign account, but that the receipt got lost.

Neither Dhahan's nor Mann's names showed up on the Elections Canada lists of contributors to Nina and Gurmant Grewal's campaigns.

Grewal is also being investigated by police and a parliamentary ethics commissioner for taping his conversations with the federal finance minister and an aid to Prime Minister Paul Martin.

posted on 07/13/2005

Vancouver Sun: "Donations Legal:Grewal"

2005-07-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

Donations legal: Grewal

Donations legal: Grewal
Controversial Conservative MP says cheques were made out to him directly because donors were 'shy'

Jonathan Fowlie
Vancouver Sun

Newton-North Delta MP Gurmant Grewal said Tuesday that cheques made out to him personally were within Elections Canada guidelines.

Surrey Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal says he did not break any laws or campaign rules by accepting donations that are now being investigated by the RCMP.

Grewal released copies of the controversial donation cheques at his office Tuesday -- two $600 cheques that were made out to Grewal personally and a third cheque for $1,800 that was made out to his wife Nina's political campaign -- and defended his reasons for taking the personal cheques without giving receipts or reporting the donations to Elections Canada.

"If he [Barj Dhahan, the man who wrote one of the controversial cheques] wanted a receipt, he could have made it to the [constituency association]," Grewal said.

Explaining why Dhahan wrote one of the cheques directly to him and not to the association, Grewal said: "He was shy and he chose to do that because then his allegiance to the Canadian Alliance would not be made public."

He said the second donor, Sarup Mann gave the same reason for writing a cheque directly to him.

Grewal said he is not able to issue receipts for cheques written directly to him because "I do not have a charitable organization for Gurmant Grewal," and added that Dhahan and Mann should have known that.

Dhahan and Mann came forward this month, saying they each made $600 campaign contributions directly to Grewal in December 2003, and that neither of them have received proper receipts.

Photocopies of the cancelled cheques released Tuesday show that Grewal, MP for Newton-North Delta, endorsed the cheques, and that the cheques had been deposited and cleared.

Grewal said he did not put the money into his personal account, but handed it over to the Grand Taj Banquet Hall to help pay for an appreciation dinner being held in his honour. No one could be reached Tuesday at the Grand Taj.

Grewal also said that under guidelines set out by Elections Canada at the time he took the donations, it was not against the rules to accept a cheque made out directly to him without reporting it.

"When he gave this cheque, it was outside the campaign period," Grewal said. "At that time there was no requirement [by] Elections Canada to issue a receipt."

While defending the cheques, Grewal added there "could be some more" cheques that were made out to him personally, but that he did not know for sure.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Tom Seaman confirmed Tuesday that police are "reviewing information to ascertain if any laws have been broken" with regards to the donations, but said he could not speak about specifics.

Asked about the police investigation, Grewal replied: "Let them do their job. I have nothing to hide."

In regards to the donation made to his wife's campaign, Grewal acknowledged a receipt should have been issued for the $1,800 cheque, and said the error was "simply an oversight on the part of a volunteer who was supposed to issue a receipt."

Reached Tuesday, Dhahan took issue with Grewal's version of events, saying the Surrey MP had specifically requested his cheque not be made to the riding association, and that Grewal had promised a receipt would be issued for the donation.

"I do not make personal gifts to people," Dhahan said, explaining Grewal asked the cheque be made out in his own name because he was not yet certain where he was planning to run.

"I gave him the money on the understanding that the party he represents would give me a receipt," he said.

" 'A receipt will be issued.' Those were his words."

Mann could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Grewal said he does not recall promising Dhahan a receipt, and accused Dhahan and Mann of being part of a Liberal "smear campaign."

In May, Grewal released secretly recorded tapes that he said show Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, and Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff were trying to entice him across the floor before a crucial budget vote.

He said he believes Dhahan and Mann have ties to Ujjal Dosanjh, and said that they have come forward as part of a larger attempt to discredit his reputation.

"Once they [the Liberals] are caught on tape, they are trying to smear my reputation," Grewal said. "This is completely a smear campaign."

Dhahan denied the allegation. He said he has hosted an event at his house for Dosanjh, but that he does not know him personally, and is not tied to him politically.

"I'm not out here for some personal grudge or vendetta against Mr. Grewal," Dhahan said. "I have nothing to gain from anyone."

Letter of Jim Holt (President of Grewal's Riding Association) to Terry Milewski, CBC

2005-07-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2005 To: Terry Milewski, CBC Vancouver From: Jim Holt, President Newton North Delta EDA, Conservative Party of Canada.
Verification Information re Six Cheques that Mr. Milewski is investigating.

Reference our discussions of the past three business days, our EDA has been tracking down information on a total of six cheques that have come to your attention as a reporter with CBC.
Given the time lines associated with these items, it hasn't been as difficult as we had first anticipated regarding re-constructing information on these items. One just had to make contact with the appropriate persons, and the task became quite easy actually. In examining this matter, we have found that rather than focus on each cheque, we should perhaps focus on the donor.

This way we feel a picture of just what we feel is going on starts to become a whole lot clearer.

Firstly, we have a Mr. Kandola, who for some reason contacted you (or was referred to you by others) to indicate that he hadn't seemed to have received a receipt for a $200. political donation. To your credit Terry, and we thank you for saving us some time, you yourself were able to determine by examining public Elections Canada records that his cheque was indeed properly receipted. But I guess a question we have back to Mr. Kandola, via you, is just why did he make such a claim in the first place, and why was he in apparent error re the veracity of his claim?

Next we have a Mr. Dhahan. Here we have a person who in addition to attending a political dinner for Gurmant Grewal back in December of 2003 (two thousand three) happens also to be a good friend of Ujjal Dosanjh. And Mr. Dhahan, nearly one and half years after a cheque was written and cleared, is now asking for a receipt for his "donation". In checking this one out, we have determined that the item was countersigned over to The Grand Taj Hall in Surrey to help pay for the dinner, it cleared through their bank, and then presumably went back to Mr. Dhahan's.

We trust that someone is asking (or perhaps maybe someone will be asking) Mr. Dhahan to explain why an event that occurred some time in the distant past didn't seem to need a receipt then, but does now. It would also be interesting to determine if this item was an "outstanding item" in accounting terms, and we guess that only a formal examination of Mr. Dhahan's Income Tax records would determine if this item had been in fact processed as a normal business expense for either 2003 (when the cheque was written), or in 2004 (when the item cleared the bank), or can it indeed be demonstrated by Mr. Dhahan or his auditors that this payment has been kept on his books as an unresolved item all these many months (and through at least one Income tax cycle). For if this item had indeed already been processed in accounting terms, then the accuracy and substance of Mr. Dhahan's claims to you will represent an entirely different legal matter altogether.

Next we have a Mr. Mann. As backgrounder on this complainant, it is a well-known fact that he is a very good friend of Ujjal Dosanjh. So good a friend is he of Mr. Dosanjh that just after the Taping Incident became public, and Mr., Dosanjh's central and principle role in that event became known to the public, Mr. Mann telephoned Mr. Grewal and voiced extreme displeasure with Mr. Grewal's actions. And then just a few short weeks later, up pops a complaint relayed to you regarding two cheques. Mann has provided you with two items, one for $1800. and another for $600. In the matter of the item for $600., our research shows that this item followed the same pattern as Mr. Dhahan's above. Namely, it was used to help pay for the December 2003 dinner, this cheque cleared in nearly identical fashion to that of Mr. Dhahan's, and all of the above questions must be asked of Mr. Mann.

Regarding the cheque in the amount of $1800. our research shows that this cheque was made payable to the Nina Grewal Campaign. This item represents the approximate cash value of the telephone call centre system Mr. Mann supplied to be used by both the Gurmant and Nina Grewal campaigns in June 2004. The reverse of that cheque clearly shows it was properly endorsed by the Registered Agent for Nina Grewal, and deposited to the EDA account. The lack of receipt on this account appears to be a simple clerical error related to the change in volunteer Registered Agents for the Fleetwood-Port Kells campaign. The new Registered Agent assumed his predecessor had issued all official receipts up to the time of the changeover. Our investigation indicates that all of the paperwork and reports are correct, and an official receipt will be issued to Mr. Mann forthwith. (On a perhaps embarrassing note, this sort of thing does happen from time to time, given the large number of items processed by volunteers during a campaign, but we do try to do our best)

This brings us to the Imperial Plumbing cheque in the amount of $1000. Here we must admit we are a bit stumped, not the least due to the fact that the copy of the cheque you forwarded to us doesn't appear to have been endorsed by anyone on the reverse, and the cheque seems to have been cleared at the Khalsa Credit Union the same day it was drawn. Equally baffling is the fact the item was processed at a branch of that credit union about 20 miles from where the cheque was prepared. We are even more baffled by this one, when we examine the date the transaction(s) occurred. Our research indicates that on that date, Mr. Grewal was in Ottawa, and either in his office, or in the House of Commons ("Hansard" can actually verify this).

[Cheque shown at top of page]

This would place Mr. Grewal at a considerable, and verifiable distance from where this cheque was issued, which would have made it remarkably difficult for him to have cashed this cheque made payable to him personally.

This leaves us with the Jas Atwal cheque in the amount of $500. made out to Gurmant Grewal and dated January 14, 2003, which was subsequently deposited into Mr. Grewal's personal account in February of 2003. This cheque is perhaps the most vexing, and infuriating one from our perspective. In investigating this one, we have determined that this cheque had nothing whatsoever to do with politics, or with so-called political donations. Nothing whatsoever! This cheque was countersigned over to Mr. Grewal for a portion of a small private business debt owed to him by a Mr. Gill, who among other things is a respected individual in the Indo Canadian Community. He is also a journalist, and owner of Surrey media outlet "Radio India".

Mr. Gill is prepared to provide a record of the Atwal debt owed to him, and also a sworn statement attesting to the fact that the Atwal cheque was in fact countersigned over to Mr. Grewal for a small and entirely unrelated (to Mr. Atwal) private debt. Further, Mr. Grewal is adamant that the words "For Fund Raiser" which appear on the memo line of this cheque must have been added at a later date (which would be ever so easy to do, and with the actual cheque in the right formal investigative hands, would also be ever so easy to verify). Notwithstanding the fact this item is over two years old, to make a claim that it was a political donation takes us right back up to the hard questions that should be asked of Mr. Mann and Mr. Dhahan.

To conclude, we very much have appreciated the time you have given us in which we could examine the above items, and we trust in turn that you will reciprocally appreciate the time and effort (most of it from committed volunteers) that we have put into providing the answers you have been seeking. We trust that our answers have given you much in the way of additional information, and as is often the case, additional questions to ponder.

We would like to conclude with two important thoughts though. The first is that the common denominator in all of the above is not so much the matter of missing receipts, but rather the fact that loyalty to Ujjal Dosanjh figured large, and often, in our inquiries. This is perhaps not surprising at all, given it is the Liberal Party's sworn intention to do everything it can to deflect attention away from Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh by attempting to shoot the messenger (that would be our Member of parliament) at every opportunity. Even the most flimsy of claims against Mr. Grewal are trotted out in the achievement of the goal of shielding Mr. Dosanjh from additional, or centre-stage scrutiny. We have heard for some time now that there would be a challenge to Mr. Grewal in the form of cheques. Given what we have seen with the above six items, we feel that the strategy of the Liberals will continue, as will our ability to defend our MP.

In addition, our experience during the examination of these items also leaves us with the knowledge of the profound vulnerability of ANY public official who at some later date might have completely logical personal financial transactions dragged out into the public arena. Events turn, opinions change, or agendas are unleashed, and all of a sudden seemingly mundane financial transactions become potential problems (the Atwal item above is the best/worst of the preceding six in this regard). Given this vulnerability, it is incumbent that those investigating such claims must ask all of the pertinent questions of those doing the complaining. It is likely that in a formal legal forum, each of the above claims would have received short shrift (at best) from those doing the examining and in a worst case, were there Audited and/or Income Tax records indicating facts to the contrary, then those doing the complaining would find themselves in quite a bit more trouble than just having to say "Oops, I'm so sorry. I guess that wasn't a political donation after all".

July 11, 2005: Holt writes to Milewski about cheques

2005-07-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2005: Grewal hands over more tapes to RCMP--Police probe extended

2005-07-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

Grewal hands over more tapes to RCMP
Police probe extended

Simon Doyle
CanWest News Service

July 9, 2005

OTTAWA - Embattled Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal handed over additional tapes to the RCMP within the past two weeks, a move that suggests the recorded talks between himself and senior Liberals that he had earlier made public were incomplete.

Mr. Grewal made recordings available in late May that showed he had been in talks with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, about exchanging rewards, such as a Cabinet post or Senate seat, for crossing the floor or abstaining from key confidence votes.

At the time, the Conservatives insisted Mr. Grewal had handed over "all of the tapes" to Opposition leader Stephen Harper, and the party posted "the complete audio file" on to Mr. Grewal's Web site for public scrutiny. The party also said it would give the tapes to the RCMP.

However, the RCMP says it has received new tapes that will extend the original timeline of its review of the affair.

"We have received additional tapes from the previous tapes that we had," Sergeant Gilles Deziel said. The RCMP received the first batch on June 1, he said, one day after Mr. Grewal made the recordings available on his Web site. The police force said it received the newest batch of tapes within the past two weeks.

Mr. Grewal, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Dosanjh, now under investigation by ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro, are also under the scope of the RCMP to determine whether the matter deserves a formal investigation for possible violations of anti-bribery measures under the Criminal Code.

The Liberals have cried foul over the recordings, pointing to the comments of audio experts who said they had been edited.

"If true, it certainly serves to highlight the cautious, careful wisdom of Mr. Harper that the tapes were pristine, complete and unaltered," Scott Reid, Paul Martin's communications director, wrote in an e-mail. "We look forward to the release of the director's cut."

Mr. Grewal says the government tried to lure him into abstaining or crossing the floor, but the Liberals say it was Mr. Grewal who approached them first, looking for rewards.

The RCMP would not confirm whether the additional tapes were recordings of a May 16 meeting with Mr. Dosanjh, which Mr. Grewal has alluded to but has never been released, and which the Conservatives say was not recorded.

Nor would the RCMP confirm whether the new tapes were those that one witness alleged Mr. Grewal tried to give to an airline passenger to transport from Vancouver to Ottawa in early June.

NDP MP Pat Martin said the senior ranks of the Conservative party have to take responsibility for Mr. Grewal's actions because Mr. Harper and Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay stood up for him, even after experts said the tapes were edited. Mr. Harper also supported Mr. Grewal's move to take a stress leave from the House in early June.

"The CPC [Conservative Party of Canada] had a choice. They could hang Grewal out to dry, or they could rally around him," Mr. Martin said.

"The party leadership has to answer for this now. It ceased to become just one rogue MP's responsibility when the party sent him home on stress leave and assumed responsibility for the file."

Support for Mr. Grewal within the Conservative party appeared to wane last month, however.

William Stairs, a Tory communications strategist, said he had not heard of any additional tapes, and said he cannot comment until the RCMP finishes its work.

"I don't know anything about what's going on about Gurmant, his lawyers and the RCMP," Mr. Stairs said.

Conservative campaign chairman John Reynolds recently told CanWest News Service that he expects Mr. Grewal to be cleared of any wrongdoing after the RCMP and the ethics commissioner are through with their investigations.

Grewal votes in house: receives standing ovation from Conservative MPs

2005-06-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal (left) receives a standing ovation from fellow MP's after voting on extending debate on C-48 in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Thursday, June 23.(CP/Tom Hanson)

June 22, 2005: Ethics Commisioner clears Grewal on visa bonds controversy

2005-06-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

940 News

Ethics commissioner clears Gurmant Grewal in immigration case at 19:15 on June 22, 2005, EST.

OTTAWA (CP) - Gurmant Grewal's only sin was having a bad idea. The Tory MP was cleared Wednesday of ethical wrongdoing for setting up a parallel immigration system in his B.C. constituency office. People came to his office and posted bonds of up to $100,000 in exchange for visitors' visas for friends or family. At least 232 people signed written guarantees to make that payment if their loved ones lingered in Canada past the visa expiry date.

Parliament's ethics commissioner slammed the scheme as a misguided error in judgment that may have appeared like a conflict of interest. But Bernard Shapiro defended Grewal's character. He said the Tory MP had honest intentions, never planned to pocket any money, and in fact never collected a cent.

"There was no real conflict of interest," said Shapiro's report, released Wednesday. "No personal profit to Mr. Grewal was either intended or realized. . . . I believe that his actions were an error in judgment made in good faith."

It was the latest piece of good news in recent days for Grewal after a brutal month that forced him to take a stress leave. He is embroiled in a separate scandal after he released tapes of secret negotiations with two senior Liberals and the tapes were found to be partly altered.

Transport Canada has cleared Grewal following an incident at Vancouver airport that originally caused him to take his stress leave. He tried using other passengers to ship the controversial tapes back to Ottawa. Grewal has remained out of the public eye since then, and did not respond to a request for an interview Wednesday.

But he said in a statement that he had always maintained his innocence since the immigration allegations first surfaced.

His riding president now says Grewal's feeling well enough to return to work.

Immigration Minister Joe Volpe had asked the ethics commissioner and the RCMP to investigate the bond-posting scheme in April.

"I believe that the ethics commissioner's report speaks for itself," Grewal said in a statement.

"I am pleased that the ethics commissioner has looked into the matter and determined that the minister's allegations were baseless."

Grewal began his unusual practice in 2002, and has long lobbied for legislation that would allow Canadian residents to sponsor foreign visitors.

It was Grewal himself who revealed details of his scheme while promoting his own private member's bill to change immigration rules.

Shapiro said that the practice - "however innocently intended" - did not fall within the federal government's rules.

Volpe said he accepted Shapiro's findings. "I left it with the ethics commissioner to come up with a decision for us," he said in an interview. "He's done it and I'm going to respect that."

But he warned other MPs not to follow Grewal's example. "These things have the tendency to give off the appearance of conflict that's unhelpful to the parliamentary process."

It was the second high-profile ruling in Shapiro's brief tenure - and second in two days following months of silence from his office. The rookie commissioner faces a grilling before a parliamentary committee Thursday and the NDP is calling for his removal.

Critics jumped Shapiro's report this week on ex-immigration minister Judy Sgro, a piece of work that cost $170,000, took seven months to complete, and offered no clear verdict on how the government should have handled a scandal involving residence permits.

June 21, 2005: Ethics report

2005-06-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

To download the Ethics' Commissioner's full report click here.

Here are scans of the most important pages:

June 21, 2005: Vancouver Province. Grewal ready to return

2005-06-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Canadian Press NewsWire
June 21, 2005
SECTION: Pg. n/a

HEADLINE: MP Gurmant Grewal looking at returning to some political duties: official

VANCOUVER (CP) - Stressed-out Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal is feeling well enough to return to work after taking a leave from some of his political duties.

Jim Holt, president of Grewal's riding association in the Vancouver-area riding of Newton-North Delta, said the MP wants to get back to Ottawa to work on constituency issues. "I'm pretty sure he's going back to Ottawa to work," Hold told the Vancouver Province on Tuesday. "He indicated he was feeling better and he'd like to get back."

Holt based his suggestion on a chat with Grewal, who last month accused federal Liberals of trying to buy his and his wife's parliamentary support with political jobs. Grewal taped conversations with federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, Tim Murphy.

Holt said Grewal has seen a doctor, but declined further comment, saying "that's a personal matter."

Grewal has largely refused to comment on his situation since announcing earlier this month he was taking a stress leave from his parliamentary duties to deal with the controversy.

Geoff Norquay, a spokesman for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, said from Ottawa that he wasn't aware of any plans by Grewal to return to work.

(Vancouver Province)

June 20, 2005 Martin says Grewal Not Welcome As Liberal Candidate.. Harper Regrets Putting Wrong Tape On Website

2005-06-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Paul Martin says he wouldn't welcome Gurmant Grewal as a Liberal candidate



Canadian Press

June 20, 2005

Prime Minister Paul Martin and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper cross paths as they take turns at a live radio show in Ottawa, Monday. (CP/Fred Chartrand)

ADVERTISEMENT

OTTAWA (CP) - The Conservative MP who says he was offered a plum job with the Liberals if he crossed the floor would no longer be welcome in the party.

Prime Minister Paul Martin said Monday he doesn't want Tory MP Gurmant Grewal in his caucus.

Martin told CKNW radio that Grewal could buy a membership in the Liberal party if he wanted to, but would be prevented from standing as a candidate.

"Well, someone can buy a membership," he said, "but if your question is do we want him as a candidate, the answer is unequivocally no."

Grewal came under scrutiny after he secretly taped discussions with the federal health minister and the prime minister's top aide about his future.

Experts said the tapes had been altered.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said he doesn't regret backing Grewal:

"I don't think there's anything wrong with blowing the whistle and I don't think there's anything wrong with somebody trying to bribe you. What's wrong is if you take the bribe, and he didn't."

Harper, who was interviewed immediately following Martin, did say it was regretful that "the incorrect tape was posted on our website."

Grewal went on stress leave after the tape incident.

Told that Martin doesn't want Grewal now, Harper replied: "After (Grewal) turned down their offers to join them - that's kind of the old fable of the sour grapes, right?"

Harper sidestepped answering whether Grewal would be welcome to run again as a Conservative.

"In the end the various authorities will sort this out," he said.

The RCMP is examining the tapes and Parliament's ethic commissioner has also been asked to look into the affair.

June 17, 2005, NDP Calls For Resignation Of Ethics Commissioner

2005-06-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

Macleans:June 17, 2005 - 14:53

NDP to call for resignation of "incompetent" ethics commissioner

SUE BAILEY

OTTAWA (CP) - Parliament's independent ethics watchdog is an incompetent "wet noodle" who should be replaced, critics say.

Bernard Shapiro, named ethics czar by the Liberals last year, has been asked in recent months to look into at least two cases of alleged conflict in the Liberal cabinet.

He has not released final reports in either case, and has been cast by the opposition as a bumbling foot-dragger.

Now, the NDP says Shapiro has declined to expand an inquiry into the controversial Grewal tapes affair to include the prime minister.

They have demanded an explanation, and MP Ed Broadbent says he will formally call for Shapiro's resignation next week.

Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay threw his weight behind the growing push to oust the commissioner.

"Mr. Shapiro seems to be demonstrating daily that he's just as anemic as his predecessor," MacKay said Friday outside the Commons.

"He's a wet noodle on this issue," he said of the ethics commissioner's probe of secretly recorded discussions between Tory MP Gurmant Grewal and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, the prime minister's top aide.

"And yes, I think (Shapiro) should resign. I think we should have someone there who's competent, independent and prepared to hold to account government officials that were involved in what appears to be a vote-buying exercise in return for cabinet positions."

No one from Shapiro's office was immediately available.

But a spokesman for the prime minister brushed off calls for Shapiro's dismissal.

"Mr. Shapiro is an officer of Parliament," said Scott Reid. "If we were to excuse these officers every time they made a decision one politician or another disagreed with, we'd defeat the purpose of independent officers altogether."

But disdain for Shapiro's performance is not limited to opposition MPs.

Duff Conacher, spokesman for the public interest group Democracy Watch, is even more critical.

"I think it's generous to say incompetence when it amounts to bias."

The group plans to press Shapiro to step aside while his work over the last year is independently reviewed. If he refuses, Democracy Watch will ask a court to order such a probe by the end of July, Conacher said.

He has repeatedly assailed Shapiro for appointing Borden Ladner Gervais, a law firm with close Liberal ties, to investigate allegations that former Immigration Minister Judy Sgro was in conflicts of interest.

She resigned in January to clear her name. But Shapiro, citing various delays and legal snags, has still not released his final report.

Conacher says Shapiro has shown a disturbing tendency to protect public officials rather than investigate legitimate complaints of rule-breaking.

Shapiro has also been asked to probe the propriety of negotiations about Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal's possible support for the Liberals in exchange for plum jobs for him and his Tory MP wife, Nina.

Grewal went on stress leave after his secret tapes became public. He made headlines again earlier this month when he was spotted at a Vancouver airport trying to get additional tapes delivered to Ottawa in a hurry.

The RCMP has cleared him of wrongdoing in the airport incident.

Cpl. Dave Williams says the Mounties never launched a full-scale investigation because Grewal had cleared airport security before his actions drew attention.

"It was a safety concern for the airline, but once everybody goes through security - and he was on the secure side - you can exchange packages as long as everybody knows what's in the package.

"If we found out that it had come in from a non-secure method, we may have been involved," Williams said from Richmond, B.C. "But we had no evidence to even suggest that."

Transport Canada has also cleared Grewal in the airport incident. Air Canada is still conducting its own investigation.

Debate was raging at the time of the airport incident over the authenticity of the tapes. Several audio experts concluded that the recordings had been altered before being made public.

June 17th 2005, Grewal Cleared In Airport Incident

2005-06-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

Grewal cleared in airport incident
CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — The Mounties and federal transportation regulators have dropped their investigations of Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal over an incident at Vancouver International Airport.

Grewal had tried on June 4 to get other passengers in a waiting area of the airport to carry a package for him to Ottawa.

But the RCMP say there was nothing criminal about the Newton-North Delta MP's actions.

Transport Canada has also cleared Grewal of any wrongdoing.

In a letter to the MP, the agency's manager of security operations says Grewal did not contravene the Aeronautics Act.

Grewal went on stress leave a few days after the incident, and gave up his parliamentary duties.

Air Canada is still conducting its own investigation.

June 16, 2005 "No Cabinet Job Was Promised" Re Belinda Stronach Crossing

2005-06-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

Thu, June 16, 2005

No cabinet job was promised
Before Stronach defected: Grit
By STEPHANIE RUBEC, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER

OTTAWA -- Belinda Stronach was handed a plum cabinet job only after deciding to join the Liberals, says a spokesman for the prime minister.

Scott Reid, the Paul Martin's director of communications, says negotiations over Stronach's responsibilities in a Liberal government weren't launched until she had made up her mind to leave the Conservatives.

'EXCEPTIONAL'

But Reid said former Ontario premier David Peterson didn't have to exert too much pressure on Martin to secure a cabinet post.

"In Belinda Stronach's case, her talents are exceptional and obvious," Reid said of the millionaire auto-parts heiress.

"There was never any question that someone of her stature was going to enter cabinet."

Reid outright dismissed complaints by the Conservatives that the Liberals lured Stronach over with a cabinet post.

"She made it clear that she was going to cross the floor," he said. "She had made her decision that she could no longer tolerate a party led by Stephen Harper that was narrow and that was ungenerous."

Conservative MP John Reynolds has complained to the Law Society of Upper Canada about Peterson's role in negotiating Stronach's cabinet post.

He asked the Law Society Monday to investigate whether Peterson broke the Criminal Code by negotiating the plum position.

"It's a joke. The whole issue is a farce," Reid said of the complaint.

June 15, 2005 Tory MP Reynolds Files Complaint Against Top Liberals In Grewal Matter

2005-06-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

Tory MP files complaints against three top Liberals

STEPHEN THORNE, CP 2005-06-15 02:52:41

OTTAWA -- A Conservative MP has filed complaints with two law societies against three Liberals -- former Ontario premier David Peterson, federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and the prime minister's chief of staff, Tim Murphy.

In separate letters of complaint written Monday, Tory John Reynolds says the three -- all lawyers -- offered Conservative MPs compensation in exchange for their support in key confidence votes on the Liberal minority government's budget.

Reynolds alleges the actions of Peterson, Dosanjh and Murphy compromise the integrity of the legal profession.

He says they also could violate Section 119(1) of the Criminal Code, which prohibits people from offering members of Parliament "valuable consideration, office, place or employment" to influence their work in any way.

In letters to Ontario's Law Society of Upper Canada, Reynolds says Peterson, Ontario Liberal premier from 1985 to 1990, and Murphy may have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct and Canada's Criminal Code.

In a letter to the Law Society of British Columbia, he says Dosanjh may have violated the provisions of its Professional Conduct Handbook, as well as the Criminal Code.

Reynolds provides transcripts he claims indicate that Dosanjh and Murphy offered a cabinet position to Tory MP Gurmant Grewal or a "significant position" for Grewal's wife, Nina, also a Tory MP, in exchange for their votes.

He also provides transcripts he says indicate that Peterson offered former Tory Belinda Stronach a cabinet position in exchange for joining the Liberals.

Stronach left the Conservatives last month to become human resources minister in Paul Martin's government.

Stronach said yesterday she was considering her options when she ran into Peterson and his wife, Shelley, who had been "dear friends" for years.

She said she told Peterson of "serious concerns" she had with the coming vote and the direction the Conservative party was taking.

Asked if Peterson offered her a cabinet post, she said: "I'm in this for reasons of public service," and Peterson was a "go-between."

Spokesperson Lisa Riley said the Law Society of Upper Canada only comments if a disciplinary hearing is called.

Grewal recorded his conversations with Dosanjh and Murphy.

The prime minister says he authorized the talks, but no job offers were made in exchange for votes. The Bloc and NDP have asked the RCMP to look into Martin's involvement.

Dosanjh says portions of the tapes were altered to erase parts of conversations, and to move other parts to suggest wrongdoing.

"Mr. Reynolds is obviously also in need of some stress leave," said Dosanjh spokesperson Ken Polk.

June 14, 2005 CTV Reports MP Reynolds Files Complaints Against 3 Liberals

2005-06-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

MP Reynolds files complaints against 3 Liberals

Canadian Press

OTTAWA — A Conservative MP has filed complaints with two law societies against three Liberals -- former Ontario premier David Peterson, federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and the prime minister's chief of staff Tim Murphy.

In separate letters of complaint written Monday, Tory John Reynolds says the three -- all lawyers -- offered Conservative MPs compensation in exchange for their support in key confidence votes on the Liberal minority government's budget.

Reynolds alleges the actions of Peterson, Dosanjh and Murphy compromise the integrity of the legal profession.

He says they also could violate Section 119(1) of the Criminal Code, which prohibits people from offering members of Parliament "valuable consideration, office, place or employment'' to influence their work in any way.

In letters to Ontario's Law Society of Upper Canada, Reynolds says Peterson, Ontario Liberal premier from 1985 to 1990, and Murphy may have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct and Canada's Criminal Code.

In a letter to the Law Society of British Columbia, he says Dosanjh may have violated the provisions of its Professional Conduct Handbook, as well as the Criminal Code.

Reynolds provides transcripts he claims indicate that Dosanjh and Murphy offer a cabinet position to Tory MP Gurmant Grewal or a "significant position'' for Grewal's wife Nina, also a Tory MP, in exchange for their votes.

He also provides transcripts he says indicate that Peterson offered former Tory Belinda Stronach a cabinet position in exchange for crossing the floor to the Liberals.

Stronach left the Conservatives last month to become human resources minister in Paul Martin's Liberal government.

Stronach said Tuesday she was considering her options when she ran into Peterson and his wife Shelley, who had been "dear friends'' for years.

She said told Peterson of "serious concerns'' she had with the coming vote and the direction the Conservative party was taking.

"I had to make a very, very tough decision which I agonized over and it was a question of fate and circumstance.''

Asked if Peterson offered her a cabinet post, she said: "I'm in this for reasons of public service,'' and Peterson was a "go-between.''

Spokeswoman Lisa Riley said the Law Society of Upper Canada only comments if a disciplinary hearing is called.

Grewal recorded his conversations with Dosanjh and Murphy.

The prime minister says he authorized the talks, but no job offers were made in exchange for votes. The Bloc and NDP have asked the RCMP to look into Martin's involvement.

Dosanjh says portions of the tapes were altered to erase parts of conversations, and to move other parts to suggest wrongdoing.

The conversations and a meeting with Dosanjh and Murphy took place on the eve of a confidence motion that threatened to defeat Martin's government.

Grewal has said he recorded two to four hours of audio, but only 90 minutes were initially released publicly. RCMP have the recordings.

Parliament's ethics commissioner is also investigating. A spokesman says the commissioner must decide whether to agree to an NDP request to include Martin in the probe.

Toronto Star; DEc. 17, 2000: profile of Promise Keepers Canada

2005-06-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Law society complaints filed against Liberals
Jun. 14, 2005. 05:11 PM
CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — A Conservative MP has filed complaints with two law societies against three Liberals — former Ontario premier David Peterson, federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and the prime minister’s chief of staff Tim Murphy.
In separate letters of complaint written yesterday, Tory John Reynolds says the three — all lawyers — offered Conservative MPs compensation in exchange for their support in key confidence votes on the Liberal minority government’s budget.

Reynolds alleges the actions of Peterson, Dosanjh and Murphy compromise the integrity of the legal profession.

He says they also could violate Section 119(1) of the Criminal Code, which prohibits people from offering members of Parliament ``valuable consideration, office, place or employment” to influence their work in any way.

In letters to Ontario’s Law Society of Upper Canada, Reynolds says Peterson, Ontario Liberal premier from 1985 to 1990, and Murphy may have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct and Canada’s Criminal Code.

In a letter to the Law Society of British Columbia, he says Dosanjh may have violated the provisions of its Professional Conduct Handbook, as well as the Criminal Code.

Reynolds provides transcripts he claims indicate that Dosanjh and Murphy offer a cabinet position to Tory MP Gurmant Grewal or a ``significant position” for Grewal’s wife Nina, also a Tory MP, in exchange for their votes.

He also provides transcripts he says indicate that Peterson offered former Tory Belinda Stronach a cabinet position in exchange for crossing the floor to the Liberals.

Stronach left the Conservatives last month to become human resources minister in Paul Martin’s Liberal government.

Stronach said today that she was considering her options when she ran into Peterson and his wife Shelley, who had been “dear friends” for years.

She said told Peterson of “serious concerns” she had with the coming vote and the direction that the Conservative party was taking.

“I had to make a very, very tough decision which I agonized over and it was a question of fate and circumstance.”

Asked if Peterson offered her a cabinet post, she said: “I’m in this for reasons of public service,” and Peterson was a ``go-between.”

Spokeswoman Lisa Riley said the Law Society of Upper Canada only comments if a disciplinary hearing is called.

Grewal recorded his conversations with Dosanjh and Murphy.

The prime minister says he authorized the talks, but no job offers were made in exchange for votes. The Bloc and NDP have asked the RCMP to look into Martin’s involvement.

Dosanjh says portions of the tapes were altered to erase parts of conversations, and to move other parts to suggest wrongdoing.

The conversations and a meeting with Dosanjh and Murphy took place on the eve of a confidence motion that threatened to defeat Martin’s government.

Grewal has said he recorded two to four hours of audio, but only 90 minutes were initially released publicly. RCMP have the recordings.

Parliament’s ethics commissioner is also investigating. A spokesman says the commissioner must decide whether to agree to an NDP request to include Martin in the probe.

June 13, 2005: Grewal Sought Bond, $50,000 for Visa Guarantees

2005-06-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

Jun. 13, 2005.
Toronto Star
Document shows Grewal sought bond for visitors
MP wanted visa guarantees of $50,000 and up
Being investigated for possible breach of conduct code

LES WHITTINGTON
OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWAGurmant Grewal, the Conservative MP now on a stress leave, has asked constituents seeking to bring a visitor to Canada to sign a "personal guarantee" that the visitor will not overstay the term of his or her visa.

Grewal revealed his use of the bonds in March, when he told a House of Commons committee he had demanded guarantees of between $50,000 and $100,000 from constituents seeking visas for their relatives.

The guarantee form, a copy of which was obtained by the Toronto Star, is believed included in the information being studied by the federal ethics commissioner to determine whether Grewal has breached the code of conduct for MPs.

As part of the undertaking on the form, the person seeking a visa is asked to sign the statement: "THAT MY/OUR current net worth is assessed at a value of $50,000. And that I/We agree to place a bond against our guarantee in the sum of ..."

The amount of the bond is not specified and the name of the person seeking to bring a visitor to Canada is blacked out on the copy of the form that has come to light.

The guarantee begins: "THAT I/WE the undersigned, residents of...in the city of Surrey in the Province of BC, seek the assistance of Gurmant Grewal, MP for Newton-North Delta, in the matter of the issuance of a Visitor Visa for. ..."

It continues: "THAT I/WE provide a personal guarantee (Joint or Severed) that the above applicant for a visitor's visa and any family members travelling with the applicant, shall leave Canada on or before the expiry of the visa. ..."

Grewal told MPs studying immigration questions on March 24 that he agreed to help out visa-seeking constituents "when they sign it (the guarantee)." And he has told the media he made such arrangements with constituents "maybe 20" times.

Grewal subsequently said he only used the guarantees to test the potential reliability of visitors before vouching for them himself. He denied he had accepted any bonds, let alone any cash payments.

But his use of the bonds in exchange for his support in visa applications continues to reverberate in immigration and government circles.

Richard Kurland, a well-known Vancouver immigration lawyer, says he has never seen anything like it.

"This is unheard of," said Kurland. "There's no place for that in our system."

Critics of Grewal's scheme say there is no indication on the forms who would get the promised bond payment if the visitor failed to leave Canada when the visa expired. Kurland said it is obviously unacceptable that any such payment would go to the MP involved.

In the past, Grewal has said he would turn the guarantee over to the federal government for possible collection if a visitor overstayed a visa. He has also said the personal guarantees were probably legally unenforceable.

Rather, the MP said the bonds were a test for those wishing to bring in visitors. He explained to the MetroValley Newspaper Group in B.C.: "You can judge a person if they refuse to sign it," he told the newspaper group.

"If the sponsor is not sure that the visitor will go back to the country of origin, why should I be vouching for that person?"

Immigration Minister Joe Volpe has asked federal ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro to investigate Grewal's use of the bonds. Volpe also asked the RCMP to look into the matter.

Grewal has denied any wrongdoing. "I have, in fact, come up with a solutions-oriented approach to a serious problem in the immigration system" of visitors staying on in Canada after their visas expire.

Grewal is at the centre of a controversy over his secretly taping conversations he had with senior Liberals, allegedly involving political rewards he would be given if he switched parties. The MP, who left Ottawa for Vancouver last week after going on stress leave, could not be reached for comment.

Jun 11, 2005 G&M Backgrounder on Nina Grewal

2005-06-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

SURREY, B.C.; OTTAWA -- She learned everything she needed to know about politics from watching the parliamentary channel CPAC, her husband Gurmant Grewal says, but Nina Grewal's continued silence has a growing number of critics wondering if she was watching on mute.

She won her first election in a seat Mr. Grewal didn't want.

Both put their names forward in two adjacent ridings and he, as the senior politician in the household, decided which constituency he wanted, leaving her with his second choice.

When she gave a CBC radio interview after they both won for the Tories in the 2004 election, making history as the first husband-and-wife team elected at the same time, he whispered the answers to her.

As her husband stumbled from taped conversations to negotiated stress leave, Ms. Grewal, the Conservative MP for the Surrey riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells, has remained resolutely silent.

Both in Ottawa and in her own political backyard, she has a reputation as more a quiet supplicant than an active participant in public life.

In the hours of conversation Mr. Grewal had with the Liberals, she is referred to simply as his "wife" as the talk centres on a possible Senate seat for her -- part of a deal that would have seen the couple leave the Conservative party or sit out the budget vote.

Mr. Grewal boasts in the recordings that he will win easily in the next election while she may not.

His own personal story is "very brilliant," he says. Hers is virtually unknown.

There is growing uneasiness about her silence, her inexperience and the mounting damage that has been done to the Conservatives.

Manjit Dhillon, a Conservative organizer with the Fraser Valley's Indo-Canadian community and an executive in Conservative MP Randy White's Abbotsford riding, said her silence, combined with her husband's actions, has hurt the credibility of politicians in general and the politically active ethnic community in particular.

"It will take 10 years for the Indo-Canadian community to regain any trust, whether what happened on the tape is true or false and keeping quiet on her part doesn't help," he said. "We see that Stephen Harper is standing behind Gurmant Grewal, but his wife is not saying anything. Even Hillary stood behind Bill Clinton when things turned."

Ms. Grewal has no intention of talking now. She turned down interviews, and in a brief talk outside the family's home in upscale Panorama Ridge, Jay Grewal said his mother is supporting her husband. "She won't talk to you. No one in her office will talk about this now. We're just supporting each other through this," he said. "She wants to continue her work."

Her life before she got started in politics remains something of a mystery.

Born in Osaka, Japan, where her father had business interests, Ms. Grewal, 46, and her family moved to Liberia in West Africa when she was 4½ years old. From there, she was sent to Shimla, India, to study in a convent, finishing her college degree in history and English literature before getting married in 1982.

"My father placed a matrimonial advertisement in The Tribune newspaper and Gurmant's parents responded," she said in a rare interview in November, 2004, for an Indian website.

After their marriage, the young couple moved to Liberia where their sons Japjot (Jay) and Livjot, now 19 and 21, were born.

Mr. Grewal, 47, once told a Vancouver reporter he was an adviser to Liberian dictator Sam Doe, although he has since denied it. He says he worked as a professor of agriculture, and started a number of ventures, including a cellphone company and pest control business. Ms. Grewal's website says only that she worked in the family business while in Liberia.

Civil war led the family to leave, and they made their way to Canada after stays in Britain and the United States. Despite the fact that, on tape, Mr. Grewal says he came here with little money, he was able to acquire a carpet business shortly after arriving.

Mr. Grewal first ran for political office as a B.C. Liberal in 1995, but was unsuccessful. He won federally two years later as a Reformer. Ms. Grewal would often attend functions and give speeches on his behalf when his schedule got too busy. "This was good political training," she told IndiaNest.com.

While Ms. Grewal's first brush with political life had been as a stand-in, her husband's controversies often propelled him to the front lines. He once claimed he taped an offer of a deputy cabinet position from the B.C. Liberals, and later hired Rachel Marsden in his riding office, a right-wing pundit who had pleaded guilty to stalking a radio personality.

In 2004, Mr. and Ms. Grewal announced their intentions to run in two different ridings and signed up substantial number of new Conservative members within the Indo-Canadian community. In the riding Ms. Grewal subsequently ran in, she fended off a high-profile contender, Mary Polak, the former Surrey school board chair, who withdrew her bid for the nomination, arguing her opponent had an unfair advantage because of her husband's access to membership lists.

Community activist Manpreet Grewal, no relation to the family, said she has often asked people if they had heard of Ms. Grewal before she entered the race.

"Not one person that I know has ever remembered her doing anything in the community. It's a big mystery about where she came from, what she did," she said. "People here resent the fact that someone who was only known as the wife of a politician suddenly becomes a politician herself with nothing to show with any community involvement."

But Chris Mathisen, an organizer for the Conservatives in Surrey and White Rock, said he has sat with Ms. Grewal at policy conventions and in election preparation meetings.

"I've chatted with her and we've discussed issues. She has her opinions," he said. "She's also a nice lady."

The new riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells, created in a 2004 redistribution, is 20-per-cent Indo-Canadian, with a growing affluent population. It was considered a safe Tory seat when the election was called.

When questions arose during the campaign about her qualifications, her husband said she watched CPAC, the parliamentary TV channel "all the time for the last seven years. We don't watch movies at home. We only watch CPAC."

In their household, Ms. Grewal has said they "eat, breathe and talk all the time [about] politics."

She won her seat with 36 per cent of the vote, compared with 30 per cent for her Liberal opponent, former B.C. cabinet minister Gulzar Cheema.

Dr. Cheema had three campaign managers, including Ron Churchill, a former organizer with the Reform and then the Alliance party.

"It really hurt losing to someone like her. We tried everything we knew, the three of us, with all of our experiences, to convey the message voters should elect a person, not the party," Mr. Churchill said. "She was the invisible candidate. She wasn't even the peekaboo candidate. She was fully hidden. I didn't see the boo."

Mr. Churchill said that at an all-candidates meeting at Kwantlen College during campaign, Ms. Grewal's staff directly intervened with signs to help her answer questions.

The rumour around Parliament Hill, and in Surrey, is that Mr. Grewal controls everything in his wife's office from hiring or vetting staff, to checking her correspondences and dealing with constituent matters in Fleetwood-Port Kells.

B.C. communications consultant Colin Metcalfe, who worked on the Tory campaign in the last election, and knows Ms. Grewal professionally, says she is simply a "very private woman."

Mr. Metcalfe said Ms. Grewal is not "a shrinking violet," but does have trouble with English, which is not her first language.

Mr. Grewal has returned to the family's home in Surrey, one of four properties the couple own either together or separately in the Lower Mainland. Though Mr. Grewal returned home earlier this week accompanied by RCMP, Ms. Grewal was expected back only this weekend.

For now, the family lives in a 7,600-square-foot home in Panorama Ridge, with six-bedrooms, four bathrooms and a Canadian flag flying. Although no sign is up, real estate listings show the house is currently for sale and listed for $978,888.

Neighbours in their enclave say they do not know the couple well.

"These homes are half-acre lots. We have a long and heavy retaining wall between each other and the person who is your next door neighbour is actually a half a block away," said one neighbour, who said she rarely sees the family, and declined to be named.

In Ottawa, the couple rarely socialize with other caucus members. By most accounts, Ms. Grewal stays close to her husband during and after office hours, and has no close friends in caucus.

But she does appear to be well-liked and does not shy away from the microphone during closed-door caucus sessions.

Her seatmate in the House of Commons Alberta Tory Lee Richardson says Ms. Grewal is capable of joining in the rowdiness and has shown her agitation with some of the catcalls from the other side. Mr. Richardson dismisses the notion that Ms. Grewal's ethnic heritage has kept her in the shadows.

"Women in that community are pretty strong, just in a very subtle way. And obviously it works because people have a different impression than how it really is, I think. I think she stands up pretty well."

Carol Skelton, another fellow MP, said Ms. Grewal just quietly goes about doing her job and shines when she's in front of the cameras.

"That's the whole Ottawa mentality. You look at someone that's quiet, that's not in the media a lot and you say, 'Oh you know, they're under somebody's shadow,' and that's not true," she said. "As women parliamentarians, we go around doing our jobs and try to stay out of the media."

Ms. Grewal is interested in immigration and women's issues, with a focus on raising the age of consent.

But some Tory MPs are not exactly clear on what drives her.

"Honestly, there is nothing that jumps into my mind what Nina's passion is," says a Tory colleague who asked not to be named.

She is the vice-chair of the status of women committee. The chairwoman, Manitoba Liberal MP Anita Neville, says that some of the issues the committee is dealing with, such as gender-based analysis and pay equity, are quite "new" to Ms. Grewal.

"I'm sort of reluctant to talk about her," said Ms. Neville. "I don't really know her. She attends most meetings.. . .She's quiet but diligent."

One Tory MP notes that in the last election, the party had to send in MPs to replace her in several all-candidates debates because it felt she couldn't handle the issues.

Rob Terris, the head of the Tynehead Community Association and the Ratepayers Association in her riding, said yesterday that whenever he approached Ms. Grewal for assistance in projects such as building a pool in the riding or erecting a monument, she referred him to Mr. Grewal.

"On every issue I have raised with her, she told me to go to her husband instead," said Mr. Terris. "She has never responded with her own thoughts or her own ideas, just deflected it to him or she would ask me what she should do."

Jaspreet Dhanju, a dentist who lives in the riding, said she questions whether Ms. Grewal should be representing the community.

"She shouldn't be pushed down because of her husband. But as a regular person just listening and trying to understand what's going on, I wonder if she will ever stand up at all," Dr. Dhanju said.

June 11, 2005: the Grewals' strange odyssey

2005-06-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

The Toronto Star
June 11, 2005 Saturday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A06

HEADLINE: Nina and Gurmant's strange odyssey

BYLINE: Daniel Girard, Toronto Star

SURREY, B.C. On the morning after the election last June 28, Gurmant and Nina Grewal were the toast of the country, reporters lining up to tell their story.

Having just become the first husband-and-wife team elected to the House of Commons, they invited journalists to their home in this city east of Vancouver and politely answered questions and posed for photographers like movie stars promoting a new film.

The Grewals were no less in demand this week when they returned from Ottawa. But rather than make themselves available, the couple stayed for more than an hour out of sight of the cameras awaiting them at the Vancouver airport, eventually getting an RCMP escort out a back door and being swiftly driven to their car in the parking lot.

One year on, the two Conservative MPs have gone from electoral novelties to the centre of a political storm that has rolled over Ottawa and much of Canada, with its sordid tales of secretly taped conversation, dubious job offers and allegations of immigration fraud.

The mess prompted Gurmant, 47, a three-term MP, to take stress leave this week. Meanwhile Nina, 46, a parliamentary rookie, has been dogged by questions about what she may have known about her husband's negotiations last month with senior Liberals, allegedly involving political rewards for the Grewals if they helped the minority government survive a non-confidence vote.

"The whole Indo-Canadian community was proud that we were the first people who elected a husband-and-wife team to Parliament," said Harjinder Thind, a talk-show host with Sher-e Punjab Radio, where the Grewal affair has dominated the daily call-ins.

"They have really disappointed people," said Thind, noting the overwhelming majority of callers are angry with the Grewals as well as Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, who appears on one of the tape-recorded conversations to be offering a deal for them to switch parties.

"Our Indo-Canadian people like to see honest politicians because they come from a country where politicians are very dishonest and do unethical things," Thind said.

The Grewals, natives of India's Punjab, had an arranged marriage in 1982. Shortly after marrying, the well-educated Sikhs moved to the West African nation of Liberia, where Nina's parents had once lived. He taught at the University of Liberia and they began a successful import/export business and raised two now-adult sons.

The Grewal family was holidaying in India in 1990 when the civil war in Liberia led to a revolt that resulted in the overthrow and assassination of Gen. Samuel Doe, who had ruled the country for a decade after taking power in a bloody coup.

The Grewals never went back to Liberia, but lived in several different countries before settling in Surrey.

A proud Canadian, Gurmant Grewal likes to boast that he has the record for the fastest ascent from landed immigrant to MP, accomplishing the feat in less than six years.

"This tells more about Canada than about us," he told the Toronto Star after he was re-elected last June in the new riding of Newton-North Delta and his wife won neighbouring Fleetwood-Port Kells. "It shows that the multicultural fabric of Canada is being strengthened.

"I lived in Africa for almost nine years and was not even able to participate in parliament. Canada is a wonderful country that has given me the opportunity to represent Canadians."

But Grewal, who along with his wife did not respond to requests for interviews for this story, is certainly no stranger to controversy during his decade on the B.C. political scene.

Grewal has faced questions about whether he actually advised Liberia's Doe and has been accused of dirty tricks in the nomination process, both of which he has denied. He was also taken to task last year for hiring - then firing after the media found out - a woman to work in his office when she was facing criminal charges for stalking. She pleaded guilty.

And, in the mid-1990s, he was involved in a controversy similar to the one now engulfing him. It involves tape recordings and alleged job offers in exchange for political favours.

"I have no sympathy," said Sandy Powar, president of the Surrey-Newton riding association for the British Columbia Liberal Party. "He deserves what he's getting now."

Powar was charged with verbally abusing and threatening Grewal in 1996 and was forced to resign as party secretary in a bizarre incident that capped Grewal's political debut.

In 1995, Grewal was hoping to run for the Liberals in an election expected the next year. He planned to contest a nomination against the party president but withdrew from the race following a meeting with Liberal brass, saying he didn't want to hurt party morale.

But Grewal later told the media he was set up. He alleged Powar tried to bribe him with a deputy minister post in a Gordon Campbell government if he stepped aside. He soon quit the Liberals, ran for the B.C. Reform Party and was badly defeated in the 1996 election.

Grewal said he received a threatening call from Powar on election night. On another line he dialled 911 so that the conversation would be recorded. The charges were dropped soon after.

Powar, who has always maintained that was not his voice on the tape and that he wasn't in a position to offer a top job to Grewal, remains bitter nearly a decade after the incident.

"I was his first victim, that's how I feel," Powar said in an interview this week.

But there are certainly those who see Gurmant Grewal as the victim.

"I stand by my Member of Parliament and I am not alone," said Jim Holt, president of his riding association, who said he's fielded many calls of support from constituents. He takes exception with the "assassination" in the media of his MP when the actions of Dosanjh, Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, Tim Murphy, and other Liberals involved in the tape controversy are not being nearly as closely scrutinized.

Former B.C. Liberal MLA Tony Bhullar, whose riding was in Grewal's, said the MP has an "excellent work ethic." But, he said, many in the Indo-Canadian community questioned his motives when he helped secure the Conservative nomination for Nina. With Gurmant's former riding being divided into two for last year's election, both Grewals filed nomination papers to run in each of the two ridings. After seeing how they fared in signing up party members, they each chose the constituency they would seek.

Opponents said they made a mockery of the process and some dropped out of the race.

GRAPHIC: Gurmant Grewal, a three-term MP, is on stress leave, while his wife Nina, a parliamentary rookie, is dogged by questions about what she knew about her husband's conversations with senior Liberals.Gurmant Grewal, a three-term MP, is on stress leave, while his wife Nina, a parliamentary rookie, is dogged by questions about what she knew about her husband's conversations with senior Liberals.

June 11, 2005 Halifax Herald "Who Cut The Tapes?"

2005-06-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Snip, snip, who cut the tape?

By STEPHEN MAHER / Letter From Ottawa

Someone in the Conservative party edited the Grewal tapes to make the Liberals look bad and the Tories look good.

The Tories won't say who did it, but they say the complete tapes they eventually released are the same as the tapes Gurmant Grewal first gave them. If that's true, then whoever cut the tapes was working for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

It is surprising that someone in Mr. Harper's office would be at once so stupid and so unethical.

None of this clears the Liberals of wrongdoing. There is plenty of sleaze to go around in this affair.

As the Tories keep pointing out, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, the prime minister's chief of staff, went over the line in trying to convince Mr. Grewal to give them the votes they needed to survive a budget vote in the House. The future of the government depended on a few votes, and Mr. Grewal offered two - his and his wife's - in exchange for a cabinet post for him and a job for her.

It is against the law to offer a job in exchange for a vote.

In a series of meetings that Mr. Grewal taped, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Dosanjh try to talk Mr. Grewal into abstaining. They don't quite offer him what he is asking for, but they repeatedly make vague promises of future rewards.

I don't doubt that if they had crossed the floor, the Liberals would have made Mr. Grewal the Parliamentary Secretary for Keeping Your Mouth Shut and Ms. Grewal would have become a Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on South Asian British Columbians.

But they didn't cross. Instead, Mr. Grewal went public with his story, saying he was offered a job - a bribe - in essence, for his vote.

The Tories released a snippet of tape, and lots of journalists - including this one - quoted a chunk of dialogue that seemed to bear out Mr. Grewal's story. Mr. Murphy seems to - wink-wink, nudge-nudge - offer and not offer a reward to Ms. Grewal.

"All of which is to say, that in advance of that, explicit discussions about Senate, not Senate, I don't think are very helpful, and I don't think, frankly, can be had, in advance of an abstention," he says.

"And then we'll have much more detailed and finely hued discussions after that with some freedom. And I think that what allows is negotiating room for you, in either direction."

This, and a number of other passages, makes the Liberals look pretty bad.

Two weeks later, under pressure, the Conservatives released what they said was the whole tape. It turns out that somebody - some Tory - was lying.

What they released was a heavily edited tape. In one conversation alone there are 20 cuts. About 15 minutes of tape was left out of the package they released.

After experts concluded the tape was obviously doctored, the Tories released what they now say is the complete version. An obsessive Internet blogger, at bucketsofgrewal.blogspot.com, has compiled a word-by-word comparison of the two tapes.

It shows that someone cut out things that made the Liberals look good or the Tories look bad.

Some small cuts have a big impact in changing the nature of the conversation.

There's a long passage where Mr. Murphy gives Mr. Grewal the soft soap, making vague promises that he and his wife will be taken care of if they cross the floor. One widely quoted line: "You know obviously for us continuing to expand our base in B.C. and in prominent communities in this country is a political priority for us so it's a welcome mat that has a lot of nice comfy fur on it."

But Mr. Murphy goes on to say they can't make specific promises.

"I don't even know if Ujjal knows this, there are others in your caucus who have asked. I will do this if you will do this or that or the other thing and we have said no, period. Right? In truth, I don't think that actually serves us or that individual well, right. Because, it has been a kind you know, they have asked for a reward outside of politics and I just don't think that's, the prime minister does not think that's the right thing to do. I want you to know, you might say there is an element of trust in what's been happening here, but there's a reason for that because frankly it's better for us to be honest with you. Frankly it's better for someone like you to work on that basis."

The Tories cut out the sections in italic. So, Paul Martin told Mr. Murphy not to offer MPs like the Grewals jobs outside politics - like diplomatic posts - in exchange for their votes. Mr. Murphy is trying to tell Mr. Grewal that the Liberals will take care of the Grewals, but Mr. Martin has forbidden him to offer anything specific.

The Tories cut that, because it showed Mr. Martin had set ethical ground rules for the talks.

Later in the conversations, there are big chunks edited out where Mr. Grewal makes a hard pitch for a Senate seat for his wife.

"I will not talk to the big boss (Mr. Martin) like that, but Tim I can. Ujjal, I'm contradicting your advice a little bit, OK? The understanding that if possible my wife would be the preference for the adjustment, possibly in the Senate. So that's the understanding, but Ujjal told me not to mention it like this."

There are loads of sections cut where Mr. Grewal says things that make him look terrible. He pleads for a firm offer from Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Murphy fails to give it to him.

The Tories - or, maybe, Mr. Grewal, acting on his own - cut the tape to give Canadians the wrong idea about what happened in the talks. Then, when they were caught, they released the whole tape, and issued a news release saying the missing sections were a few seconds long, and were created through a technical glitch in file transfer in Mr. Harper's office.

That's a lie.

The Tories won't say who cut the tape. They won't deny that they were edited, although on Thursday they issued a release pointing to a review of the tapes by an expert they hired. He found no evidence that the complete tapes have been edited. That says nothing about the fact that they earlier released doctored tapes.

This raises disturbing questions about the people around Mr. Harper, although I do not believe that he personally would have approved this. On the other hand, I was surprised to learn that he didn't tell Mr. Grewal to stop secretly taping these meetings when he first learned of them.

Somebody in the Conservative party used the black arts of the war room in a vain attempt to deceive Canadians with these tapes.

The Conservatives constantly emphasize the Liberal record of corruption, and claim to offer a clean, ethical alternative.

That would be more convincing if they would tell us who cut the tape.

Hat Tip: Bourque

June 11, 2005: Globe and Mail: Nina Grewal's degree in political silence

2005-06-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

Nina Grewal's degree in political silence: With her husband firmly at centre stage in Ottawa, the MP for Fleetwood-Port Kells in Surrey, B.C., has a reputation as a quiet supplicant rather than an active participant in public life.

SURREY, B.C.; OTTAWA -- She learned everything she needed to know about politics from watching the parliamentary channel CPAC, her husband Gurmant Grewal says, but Nina Grewal's continued silence has a growing number of critics wondering if she was watching on mute.

She won her first election in a seat Mr. Grewal didn't want.

Both put their names forward in two adjacent ridings and he, as the senior politician in the household, decided which constituency he wanted, leaving her with his second choice.

When she gave a CBC radio interview after they both won for the Tories in the 2004 election, making history as the first husband-and-wife team elected at the same time, he whispered the answers to her.

As her husband stumbled from taped conversations to negotiated stress leave, Ms. Grewal, the Conservative MP for the Surrey riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells, has remained resolutely silent.

Both in Ottawa and in her own political backyard, she has a reputation as more a quiet supplicant than an active participant in public life.

In the hours of conversation Mr. Grewal had with the Liberals, she is referred to simply as his "wife" as the talk centres on a possible Senate seat for her -- part of a deal that would have seen the couple leave the Conservative party or sit out the budget vote.

Mr. Grewal boasts in the recordings that he will win easily in the next election while she may not.

His own personal story is "very brilliant," he says. Hers is virtually unknown.

There is growing uneasiness about her silence, her inexperience and the mounting damage that has been done to the Conservatives.

Manjit Dhillon, a Conservative organizer with the Fraser Valley's Indo-Canadian community and an executive in Conservative MP Randy White's Abbotsford riding, said her silence, combined with her husband's actions, has hurt the credibility of politicians in general and the politically active ethnic community in particular.

"It will take 10 years for the Indo-Canadian community to regain any trust, whether what happened on the tape is true or false and keeping quiet on her part doesn't help," he said. "We see that Stephen Harper is standing behind Gurmant Grewal, but his wife is not saying anything. Even Hillary stood behind Bill Clinton when things turned."

Ms. Grewal has no intention of talking now. She turned down interviews, and in a brief talk outside the family's home in upscale Panorama Ridge, Jay Grewal said his mother is supporting her husband. "She won't talk to you. No one in her office will talk about this now. We're just supporting each other through this," he said. "She wants to continue her work."

Her life before she got started in politics remains something of a mystery.

Born in Osaka, Japan, where her father had business interests, Ms. Grewal, 46, and her family moved to Liberia in West Africa when she was 41/2 years old. From there, she was sent to Shimla, India, to study in a convent, finishing her college degree in history and English literature before getting married in 1982.

"My father placed a matrimonial advertisement in The Tribune newspaper and Gurmant's parents responded," she said in a rare interview in November, 2004, for an Indian website.

After their marriage, the young couple moved to Liberia where their sons Japjot (Jay) and Livjot, now 19 and 21, were born.

Mr. Grewal, 47, once told a Vancouver reporter he was an adviser to Liberian dictator Sam Doe, although he has since denied it. He says he worked as a professor of agriculture, and started a number of ventures, including a cellphone company and pest control business. Ms. Grewal's website says only that she worked in the family business while in Liberia.

Civil war led the family to leave, and they made their way to Canada after stays in Britain and the United States. Despite the fact that, on tape, Mr. Grewal says he came here with little money, he was able to acquire a carpet business shortly after arriving.

Mr. Grewal first ran for political office as a B.C. Liberal in 1995, but was unsuccessful. He won federally two years later as a Reformer. Ms. Grewal would often attend functions and give speeches on his behalf when his schedule got too busy. "This was good political training," she told IndiaNest.com.

While Ms. Grewal's first brush with political life had been as a stand-in, her husband's controversies often propelled him to the front lines. He once claimed he taped an offer of a deputy cabinet position from the B.C. Liberals, and later hired Rachel Marsden in his riding office, a right-wing pundit who had pleaded guilty to stalking a radio personality.

In 2004, Mr. and Ms. Grewal announced their intentions to run in two different ridings and signed up substantial number of new Conservative members within the Indo-Canadian community. In the riding Ms. Grewal subsequently ran in, she fended off a high-profile contender, Mary Polak, the former Surrey school board chair, who withdrew her bid for the nomination, arguing her opponent had an unfair advantage because of her husband's access to membership lists.

Community activist Manpreet Grewal, no relation to the family, said she has often asked people if they had heard of Ms. Grewal before she entered the race.

"Not one person that I know has ever remembered her doing anything in the community. It's a big mystery about where she came from, what she did," she said. "People here resent the fact that someone who was only known as the wife of a politician suddenly becomes a politician herself with nothing to show with any community involvement."

But Chris Mathisen, an organizer for the Conservatives in Surrey and White Rock, said he has sat with Ms. Grewal at policy conventions and in election preparation meetings.

"I've chatted with her and we've discussed issues. She has her opinions," he said. "She's also a nice lady."

The new riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells, created in a 2004 redistribution, is 20-per-cent Indo-Canadian, with a growing affluent population. It was considered a safe Tory seat when the election was called.

When questions arose during the campaign about her qualifications, her husband said she watched CPAC, the parliamentary TV channel "all the time for the last seven years. We don't watch movies at home. We only watch CPAC."

In their household, Ms. Grewal has said they "eat, breathe and talk all the time [about] politics."

She won her seat with 36 per cent of the vote, compared with 30 per cent for her Liberal opponent, former B.C. cabinet minister Gulzar Cheema.

Dr. Cheema had three campaign managers, including Ron Churchill, a former organizer with the Reform and then the Alliance party.

"It really hurt losing to someone like her. We tried everything we knew, the three of us, with all of our experiences, to convey the message voters should elect a person, not the party," Mr. Churchill said. "She was the invisible candidate. She wasn't even the peekaboo candidate. She was fully hidden. I didn't see the boo."

Mr. Churchill said that at an all-candidates meeting at Kwantlen College during campaign, Ms. Grewal's staff directly intervened with signs to help her answer questions.

The rumour around Parliament Hill, and in Surrey, is that Mr. Grewal controls everything in his wife's office from hiring or vetting staff, to checking her correspondences and dealing with constituent matters in Fleetwood-Port Kells.

B.C. communications consultant Colin Metcalfe, who worked on the Tory campaign in the last election, and knows Ms. Grewal professionally, says she is simply a "very private woman."

Mr. Metcalfe said Ms. Grewal is not "a shrinking violet," but does have trouble with English, which is not her first language.

Mr. Grewal has returned to the family's home in Surrey, one of four properties the couple own either together or separately in the Lower Mainland. Though Mr. Grewal returned home earlier this week accompanied by RCMP, Ms. Grewal was expected back only this weekend.

For now, the family lives in a 7,600-square-foot home in Panorama Ridge, with six-bedrooms, four bathrooms and a Canadian flag flying. Although no sign is up, real estate listings show the house is currently for sale and listed for $978,888.

Neighbours in their enclave say they do not know the couple well.

"These homes are half-acre lots. We have a long and heavy retaining wall between each other and the person who is your next door neighbour is actually a half a block away," said one neighbour, who said she rarely sees the family, and declined to be named.

In Ottawa, the couple rarely socialize with other caucus members. By most accounts, Ms. Grewal stays close to her husband during and after office hours, and has no close friends in caucus.

But she does appear to be well-liked and does not shy away from the microphone during closed-door caucus sessions.

Her seatmate in the House of Commons Alberta Tory Lee Richardson says Ms. Grewal is capable of joining in the rowdiness and has shown her agitation with some of the catcalls from the other side. Mr. Richardson dismisses the notion that Ms. Grewal's ethnic heritage has kept her in the shadows.

"Women in that community are pretty strong, just in a very subtle way. And obviously it works because people have a different impression than how it really is, I think. I think she stands up pretty well."

Carol Skelton, another fellow MP, said Ms. Grewal just quietly goes about doing her job and shines when she's in front of the cameras.

"That's the whole Ottawa mentality. You look at someone that's quiet, that's not in the media a lot and you say, 'Oh you know, they're under somebody's shadow,' and that's not true," she said. "As women parliamentarians, we go around doing our jobs and try to stay out of the media."

Ms. Grewal is interested in immigration and women's issues, with a focus on raising the age of consent.

But some Tory MPs are not exactly clear on what drives her.

"Honestly, there is nothing that jumps into my mind what Nina's passion is," says a Tory colleague who asked not to be named.

She is the vice-chair of the status of women committee. The chairwoman, Manitoba Liberal MP Anita Neville, says that some of the issues the committee is dealing with, such as gender-based analysis and pay equity, are quite "new" to Ms. Grewal.

"I'm sort of reluctant to talk about her," said Ms. Neville. "I don't really know her. She attends most meetings.. . . She's quiet but diligent."

One Tory MP notes that in the last election, the party had to send in MPs to replace her in several all-candidates debates because it felt she couldn't handle the issues.

Rob Terris, the head of the Tynehead Community Association and the Ratepayers Association in her riding, said yesterday that whenever he approached Ms. Grewal for assistance in projects such as building a pool in the riding or erecting a monument, she referred him to Mr. Grewal.

"On every issue I have raised with her, she told me to go to her husband instead," said Mr. Terris. "She has never responded with her own thoughts or her own ideas, just deflected it to him or she would ask me what she should do."

Jaspreet Dhanju, a dentist who lives in the riding, said she questions whether Ms. Grewal should be representing the community.

"She shouldn't be pushed down because of her husband. But as a regular person just listening and trying to understand what's going on, I wonder if she will ever stand up at all," Dr. Dhanju said.

June 11, 2005: Indian columnist blast the Grewals

2005-06-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.voiceonline.com/voice/050611/headline2.php

GREWAL CONTROVERSY

Gurmant and Nina Grewal should JUST GO AWAY!

By RATTAN MALL
What's wrong with this picture?

A man who craved publicity so desperately all the time was actually RUNNING AWAY from TV cameras and reporters at Vancouver International Airport on Wednesday night!

This was the same man who claimed he was always being offered cabinet and other top posts, but principles were always holding him back from accepting those bribes.

Now a very different picture seems to be emerging and Gurmant Grewal seems pretty reluctant to get out there and face the music.

Oh no, the poor baby is all stressed out - he's actually taken stress leave - and his MP wife Nina, who kept her mouth so tightly shut all this time, now claims she knew NOTHING about what her beloved husband was doing - the same man who manipulated the Fleetwood-Port Kells riding nomination for her!

Really?

It's quite clear from the tapes that her husband himself released that he was consulting her - unless, of course, he was lying.

Well, it's time both Gurmant and Nina RAN AWAY from all of us - into retirement from politics.

Please DO NOT DISGRACE the Indo-Canadian community any further - just leave.

You evidently were only concerned with your own big fat ego. Stretching the truth and twisting facts didn't matter to you as long as you got what you wanted.

You tried to pressure reporters in the ethnic media who dared to criticize you through influential people in the community and accused those who wouldn't publish each and every press release and photo you sent them of being biased against you or of being in the pay of another political party.

You bit off more than you could chew and now that your bubble has burst, you just can't take the pressure.

But look at the fallout of your naked ambitions. Not only has the Indo-Canadian community been humiliated, indeed, THE WHOLE COUNTRY is under a cloud.

Canada's ranking on Transparency International's global corruption index is going to go down further after the sponsorship scandal, according to the chairman of the watchdog's Canadian chapter. We fell to 12th place last year from fifth a few years ago and now we are poised to sink lower - THANKS TO YOU!

After the Air India bombing tragedy, you should have been the last person to break the cardinal security rule of not allowing unaccompanied luggage or package aboard an aircraft. Yet, according to reliable media reports, you shamelessly broke those rules by getting someone to carry an envelope reportedly containing the missing tapes to Ottawa. Now Air Canada is investigating the incident and all you can say is that the allegation is false. Yet you won't face the media to answer all the questions. What are you afraid of?

A national daily brought up your past contradictory statements about your days in Liberia before emigrating to Canada.

Now Gurwinder Dhillon says that you were a carpet salesman at his company when you bought $50,000 in shares on April 15, 1993, but that you sold them back the next day and that it was all a fake deal to meet citizenship requirements at the time. (Of course, Dhillon should realize that if his allegation is true, he too was part of that illegal act.) A Conservative spokesperson claimed it was an old unfounded allegation and you are threatening to take legal action. But with all that has happened, can anyone really believe you?

An expert especially hired by a national newspaper has claimed that your tapes were ALTERED and it was UNLIKELY that the changes in the tapes were caused by digital copying, as claimed by your party members.

God alone knows what else will surface by the time this piece appears on Saturday - BUT THANKS TO YOU, your party, the Conservatives, are down to 23 per cent support across Canada in a June 2-5 Decima survey as compared to the Liberals' 37 per cent support and the NDP's 21 per cent.

Isn't it high time you and your wife, Nina, stepped down for the sake of the community and Canada?

June 11, 2005: Herb Dhaliwal comments on the Grewal controversy

2005-06-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.voiceonline.com/voice/050611/headline1.php

GREWAL-DOSANJH CONTROVERSY

Former federal minister Herb Dhaliwal speaks out on the Grewal-Dosanjh controversy
By RATTAN MALL
Herb Dhaliwal, the first Indo-Canadian in Canada's history to become a federal minister, made the community proud with his personality, his obvious political acumen, his sophistication and his blunt honesty and courage to stand up for what he believed to be right, especially after 9/11.

He was also known for his fierce loyalty to then prime minister Jean Chretien and was instrumental in getting a consulate general in Chandigarh.

There could be no better person that Dhaliwal to comment on the sad state of political affairs in Canada, terribly vitiated by the Gurmant Grewal-Ujjal Dosanjh tapes controversy.

Here's my interview with Dhaliwal:

VOICE: What's your take on this Grewal-Dosanjh controversy?

Dhaliwal: First of all my view is that it's totally unethical to surreptitiously record a meeting with someone at any level, never mind sort of at the highest political level where people expect us to have the highest ethical standard and conduct. So I think it's totally unethical that (Grewal) recorded these conversations.

The other thing is that I think the Liberals looked way too desperate in trying to deal with the NDP first of all and having Belinda (Stronach) come over (from the Conservative party) and then trying to bring other people over. They were out fishing or trolling to get people in. I think they were just looking too desperate and it's going to hurt them in the long term, because they're looking so weak and desperate.

So I think nobody looks very good and I think Parliament and parliamentarians get discredited with all this. Although it's only one or two people, but everybody gets discredited by this. So I think the sooner they put this behind them, the better for everyone.

But what was surprising is that Stephen Harper didn't condemn this type of action of taping these conversations. He said he condoned it. So really the question will be to Stephen Harper does he say that this is acceptable behaviour to go out and surreptitiously record conversations. I think people will have to start asking him some questions. This is the guy who wants to become prime minister. So if he thinks it's okay to go around recording private conversations and then (releasing) them to the public, I just wonder what kind of ethics he has.

I can tell you from my own experience when I was political minister, we had a request from one of the Opposition members saying that he'd like to cross over but he'd like to get into Cabinet. And I remember taking to Chretien and he said: 'No. No promises are going to be made…If you want to come over and cross the floor, that's fine. But there will be no commitments made or any promises to them and they'll have to work like every other member in the Liberal caucus.'

So that was the position we took and I took at the time and we were not going to make the type of promises that are happening now for people. I think it just makes the Liberals look weak and you know Canadians want members of Parliament to have the highest ethical standards and I think that they haven't upheld the type of standards that Canadians would want them to and, unfortunately, it hurts all Parliamentarians.

VOICE: Was this Opposition MP from BC?

Dhaliwal: It was an MP from BC. (Laughs) I don't want to name anyone, but it was an MP from BC and I said just said 'no way.' And there were some MPs we just said that we were not interested in even talking to them. But these names were in confidence, so I can't give out names of anybody. It wouldn't be appropriate.

VOICE: What do you think will be the fallout from all of this?

Dhaliwal: I think first of all there's a lot of pressure on Harper (from the Conservative caucus) to have Grewal removed from caucus and the stress leave was a compromise. And I think that he will have trouble getting the nomination or getting the ticket or support from the party in the next election which is only six to eight months away. I think they will not allow him to get the nomination. So he'll have a tough fight to come back in politics. He's going to have a hell of a problem and I think the Conservatives will make it difficult for him to get the nomination.

VOICE: What implications will this have on Dosanjh's career?

Dhaliwal: I think it's probably too early to say. Obviously, he's hurt himself by being involved in this and I guess it will depend on what the Ethics Commissioner comes up with because it's now before him. He'll review all the facts and it depends on what his view and what his position is.

VOICE: Do you think there should be a comprehensive RCMP inquiry into all of Gurmant Grewal's affairs because so many things are popping up now from his past?

Dhaliwal: I think what happens in a situation like this is that the media focuses on all sorts of things, everything. Then they focus on the negative. So I don't think we should have a blanket review of everything in his past, but I think obviously if there are things that are brought to their attention, they have a responsibility to look at it. But I don't think all of a sudden they should be doing a wholesale investigation. I think that there are legitimate things they will obviously look at but I don't think they should be going out on a fishing trip.

(END)

June 11, 2005 Grewal Makes International News

2005-06-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Indian-origin lawmaker in the midst of controversy in Canada

Press Trust of India

Toronto, June 11, 2005

An Indian-origin Conservative lawmaker in Canada is at the centre of a controversy over his citizenship with an allegation surfacing that he faked as a businessman to gain entry into the country.

Gurmant Grewal, who came to Canada in 1991 from Liberia, obtained his citizenship by pretending that he was a business entrepreneur, alleged Gurwinder Dhillon, a former business partner of the MP, who claimed to have participated in the scheme.

Grewal, who is already facing charges of attempting to cross over to the Liberal side in exchange for a cabinet post, bought shares of a small carpet company from Dhillon in the city of Vancouver for USD 40,000, only to sell them back the next day.

Dhillon alleged that the lawmaker bought the shares just to fulfil his obligation as an investor immigrant, when he moved to Canada from Liberia, 'The Globe and Mail' reported.

Canadian Citizenship and Immigration rules in 1991 required prospective entrepreneurial immigrants to manage a business that would be set up within two years, provide employment opportunities to at least one Canadian.

The allegation could spell trouble for Grewal as the country's Citizenship and Immigration department has made it clear that it takes such charges very seriously.

"In general terms, where there are allegations that somebody has obtained their citizenship, or in fact their permanent residence on the basis of misinterpretation or fraud, that's something we take very seriously," department spokesman Greg Scott was quoted as saying in the report.

However, a conservative spokeswoman rubbished the allegation, saying it was old and unfounded.

June 10, 2005: Edmonton Journal Reports: "Expert" says Tapes Are "Unaltered"

2005-06-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

Grewal's tapes deemed 'unaltered' by expert
Edmonton Journal
Friday, June 10, 2005
Page: A5
Section: News
Column: Canada Digest
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Three weeks after releasing a snippet of secret recordings made by a Conservative MP in conversation with two senior Liberals, the original tapes have been deemed "unaltered," according to an Ottawa sound expert hired by the Tories to audit the tapes.

But in an interview, Randy Dash, the audio engineer from Ottawa's Algonquin College who conducted the analysis, noted four points on the second of three CDs he examined in which Conservative backbencher Gurmant Grewal appears to have paused the recording device, perhaps to protect sensitive information from being contained in his conversations with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, about supporting the government in the May 19 confidence vote.

"There were four points definitely ... If I get nervous about what you and I are saying, I might hit the pause button while it's recording. That's what I detected," Dash said.

June 10: Grewal Threatened With Being Deported For Alleged Illegal Immigration

2005-06-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

Yahoo News Reporting
Indo-Canadian MP threatened with deportation

Three weeks after implicating Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff and a senior member of his cabinet in an alleged vote-buying scandal, an opposition lawmaker is now facing possible deportation.

Immigration officials refused to divulge Friday whether they are investigating Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal for allegedly faking a business transaction to fulfill his obligations as an investor immigrant when he moved to Canada from Liberia in Western Africa in 1991.

But spokesperson Greg Scott said: "If there is evidence that somebody obtained their citizenship through fraudulent grounds, false representation, knowingly concealing material circumstances, it is something the department takes very seriously."

Since releasing secret recordings of his conversations with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and senior Martin advisor Tim Murphy about crossing the floor of the House of Commons to bolster the Liberal government's chances of winning a crucial confidence vote last month, Grewal has suddenly become a pariah in his largely immigrant westcoast electoral district and the target of numerous wrongdoing accusations.

A former business associate accused the Indian-born MP Wednesday of having bought a small carpet business from him in the city of Vancouver for 50,000 dollars (40,000 US dollars) in April 1993, then taking the money back the next day in a phoney transaction meant to dupe immigration officials.

Then, Air Canada announced it would investigate an incident at the Vancouver airport in which Grewal was overheard asking several passengers if they would carry a package for him on a flight to Ottawa.

Immigration and Citizenship Minister Joseph Volpe hinted at a possible bad outcome for Grewal if the allegations proved to be true, telling reporters Thursday that investor immigrants who failed to meet their conditions "don't usually get to stay" in Canada.

Those comments sparked outrage from Conservative MPs who accused Volpe of threatening Grewal.

"Does threatening to deport a member of Parliament whom the Liberals have failed to buy not reflect more the politics of a banana republic than a modern democracy like Canada?" Conservative MP Jason Kenney said.

Since 1977, only 50 Canadians have been stripped of their citizenship after investigations showed they had been gained improperly, Greg Scott said.

Nonetheless, the affair has hurt the opposition party in opinion polls, precipitating a sharp drop in Conservative support.

A survey released Wednesday showed Conservatives at 23 percent compared to the Liberals' 37 percent, after leading the Liberals six weeks ago at the height of testimony at a judicial inquiry into another government scandal.

The inquiry headed by judge John Gomery is looking into allegations that the Liberals under Martin's predecessor, Jean Chretien, received kickbacks from advertising firms to whom they had given millions of dollars in government contracts to promote federalism in the province of Quebec to stem separatist sentiments.

Meanwhile, Grewal's surreptitious tapes now form the basis for an investigation by the parliamentary ethics commissioner and a complaint to the federal police.

In the recordings -- which the government claimed were edited and inaccurate -- Dosanjh and Murphy discuss a possible cabinet job for Grewal and a plum senate seat or diplomatic posting for his wife if he joined the Liberals ahead of the confidence vote.

Grewal and his wife Nina became the first spouses to be elected simultaneously to the Canadian parliament in 2004.

Grewal said he meant to show that the Liberals were offering opposition MPs illegal rewards to defect.

Former Conservative star and billionaire auto parts heiress Belinda Stronach was the only MP to actually cross the floor ahead of the vote, becoming human resources minister in Martin's government.

With her help, the Liberals passed their budget by one vote.

Grewal is now on stress leave.

June 9, 2005: Edmonton Journal Reports "Opposition MPs Want 'The Truth'"

2005-06-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

Opposition MPs want 'the truth'
Edmonton Journal
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Page: A7
Section: News
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Opposition parties turned their guns on Prime Minister Paul Martin Wednesday, demanding to know what role he played in the taping scandal that has engulfed a cabinet minister and his closest advisor, and why he did not intervene if suspected criminal and ethical breaches occurred.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe has asked the RCMP to decide if Martin was negligent in not making a complaint against Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal if, as the Liberals assert, he was looking to sell his vote for government postings for he and his wife, fellow Tory MP Nina Grewal.

"The implication of that is when you're giving an order to someone like your chief of staff to negotiate with someone ready to commit a criminal infraction, I think it's something like complicity," Duceppe said after question period.

Grewal, along with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, are already under investigation by Parliament's Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro.

The NDP said Wednesday they'll ask Shapiro to rethink his ruling that Murphy falls outside the reach of his mandate because he isn't an elected official. If that bid fails, the NDP will immediately ask Shapiro to investigate Martin himself in order to get at his top aide.

"We don't intend to take our eye off the ultimate objective here, which is to find out the truth," said NDP Leader Jack Layton.

June 9, 2005 Edmonton Journal Reports: Harper's Confidence Takes a Hit

2005-06-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

Harper's confidence takes a hit
Edmonton Journal
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Page: A7
Section: News
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The man who vowed to put Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government "out of its misery" a month ago sounded far less confident Wednesday amid renewed speculation about a snap election.

From full battle cry, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has retreated to politely asking his MPs to "fulfil their parliamentary responsibilities" when it comes to next week's budget vote.

"This government can't be defeated unless people who are elected as Liberals decide to defeat it," he said Wednesday following a national caucus meeting.

The prospect of Liberals sabotaging Martin's budget because of their opposition to same-sex marriage legislation was briefly aired this week.

"There's no point in me urging people (to vote against the government) who are not in my caucus," Harper joked. "I have, some days, enough trouble urging those who are in my caucus."

With seasoned communications staff leaving for greener pastures, internal grumbling over the Gurmant Grewal debacle and a poll showing Conservative support sinking nationally, Harper has his own miseries.

June 9, 2005: CPC MP Kenney Claims Conclusive Proof That Clips/Recordings Are Not Altered

2005-06-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

JUNE 9th. Jason Kenney announces that their expert has conclusive stated that the clips/recordings he has heard are not altered. (Press Release doesn't actually appear on the CPC website, nor is it on CPC letterhead, it is leaked by somebody to Neale News) CPC expert R.Dash, who last week claimed, along with 4 other indipendent experts that the tapes were altered... now, according to press release says they are "clean"

Here is the news release as published at Neale News:

Jason Kenney, MP
Opposition Deputy House Leader
Calgary Southeast
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2005

News Release

Original Murphy/Dosanjh recordings clean and unaltered: expert

OTTAWA – Conservative Deputy House Leader Jason Kenney today released a letter to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper from Randy Dash, Senior Editor and Manager of Operations of dMAX Media in Ottawa. The letter summarizes Mr. Dash’s analysis of copies of original recordings supplied by Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal.

“Mr. Dash’s analysis of the recordings shows that they are clean and unaltered,” Kenney said. “These recordings speak for themselves. Now, it’s time for Paul Martin, Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy to begin answering the questions about their involvement in offering rewards to members of parliament in exchange for their votes. To this day, there has been no information produced by any of these individuals to dispute the facts on these recordings.”

Kenney pointed out that Mr. Dash, a professional audio engineer specializing in post-production work, is the only expert thus far to have examined copies of the original recordings, and invited others to do the same. “There has been a lot of conjecture about the authenticity of the recordings,” Kenney said. “None of this speculation is based upon fact, and would indicate that those speculating have not taken the time to listen to or examine the entire recordings, which are publicly available.”

June 9, 2005: Edmonton Journal: Nina Embattled, Has Support of Female Collegues

2005-06-09T22:40:00.000-07:00

B.C.'s 'quiet' MP Nina Grewal keeps low profile: Wife of embattled Tory MP has support of female colleagues
Edmonton Journal
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Page: A7
Section: News
Byline: Joe Paraskevas
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service; with files from The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The men left through the front door after the Conservative party's caucus meeting Wednesday, the women left through the back.

It isn't completely unheard of, some MPs said, for female party members to make such a departure, avoiding reporters waiting outside the doors on Parliament Hill.

But the reason for the detour Wednesday was special: to show support for British Columbia MP Nina Grewal.

"We left together," Ontario Tory MP Diane Finley said, afterward. "We're solidly with Nina."

"It's just natural," added Saskatchewan MP Carol Skelton, when asked about the party's show of confidence. "She's a female, she's a member of our caucus. She's a wonderful lady."

Grewal, however, was well out of hearing range.

Rare is the backbench politician who will shy from a reporter brandishing a microphone or notebook, but Grewal is setting new standards for keeping a low profile. She has successfully avoided most media attempts to have her comment on her involvement in the Hill's latest partisan tussle.

Three weeks ago, Grewal's husband, Gurmant, a Conservative MP from a Vancouver-area riding, revealed he'd taped conversations with two senior Liberals. He alleged the pair offered him and his wife political rewards for helping the minority Liberal government survive a confidence vote in the House of Commons.

The Conservatives later released tapes of conversations involving Grewal, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, chief of staff to Prime Minister Paul Martin, and the RCMP began to look into the matter.

But several audio experts quickly determined the tapes had been altered in some way. Moreover, Gurmant Grewal became the subject of two other investigations -- by Air Canada and Transport Canada -- after he was seen in Vancouver trying to pass a package to passengers boarding an Ottawa-bound flight.

Grewal asked for, and received, permission Monday from his party to go on paid stress leave.

In the clamour of the debate between the three men at the centre of the taping drama, Nina Grewal has remained silent.

When one reporter approached her this week, she would only say she wasn't part of the negotiations involving her husband. While her husband is clearly heard on tape talking about an appointment to the Senate for her, Nina Grewal said that "nobody approached me, I wasn't part of any negotiations."

Her husband in the tapes claimed to have consulted her about switching parties, saying "but we are not decided, we have not made up our minds yet."

She said she had no comment when asked how she felt about her husband using her as a bargaining chip.

The Grewals are the first husband-wife team of MPs in Canadian history.

Despite her husband's withdrawal from the political scene, which came after a tense meeting with Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, she said her husband is feeling fine.

"He's in high spirits," she said. "We're both still fighting for the right cause," she told the Toronto Star.

On Wednesday, Nina Grewal entered the Conservative caucus meeting room quietly, via the back door, 20 minutes before the meeting was to begin.

This time she said absolutely nothing, leaving an aide to say there would be no comment to media questions. Later, after question period, she slipped away out of reach of cameras.

Some Conservative MPs turned on reporters for their pursuit of Grewal and for perceived suggestions she played a role equal to her husband's in the taping affair.

"They just assume that because he's her husband she was complicit," said Alberta MP Rona Ambrose. "It's a bit sexist really."

At least one MP from another party urged her to break her silence.

"I actually would tell her to stand up and tell her story," said NDP MP Jean Crowder, who serves with Grewal on the House committee on the status of women. "I think that one of the things I hear from Canadians is they want to hear what you've done. And if you've been wrong -- and I'm not suggesting that she has -- it also gives you an opportunity to say 'I erred in judgment,' if that's the case.

"But I think it's really important that her voice, talking about her story, is front and centre."

Liberal MP Anita Neville also said she wouldn't advise Grewal on whether to speak about the tapes. Grewal, a rookie MP, was "learning her way around Parliament," and seemed a naturally reserved person, said Neville.

"She's quiet. She's quiet and conscientious on committee. But for the most part she's quiet," Neville said.

Jun 9, 2005 Senior CPC Staffers Bail Out

2005-06-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

CNEWS REPORTS

June 9, 2005
Senior staffers bail out
By MARIA McCLINTOCK, Parliamentary Bureau

A pair of senior communications staffers in Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's office have jumped ship and insiders tell Sun Media more may follow as internal trouble simmering for weeks becomes public.

Insiders told Sun Media a group of Tory senators visited Harper in the days before the May 19 confidence vote and urged him to bring in a "pro" to oversee the transition should they succeed in toppling Martin and forming government.

Nothing ever happened as a result.

That meeting, confirmed by several insiders, appeared to be the turning point for staffers.

ON HIT LIST

Sources said Harper's chief of staff Phil Murphy is on the hit list, in favour of Doug Finley who was recently brought in as the deputy chief of staff.

Director of communications Geoff Norquay yesterday denied rumours he's about to go as well.

Last week the party's veteran communications man Jim Armour, with longtime ties to the Reform and Canadian Alliance parties, announced he was leaving to take a job with the Canadian Medical Association.

Days later communications staffer Mike Storshaw announced he's leaving to take a job with Ottawa lobby firm Bluesky Strategy Group. Both Armour and Storshaw deny they were pushed out of the inner circle.

Party insiders said Storshaw was told about two weeks ago he was no longer welcome at daily communications meetings with Harper, although he continues to perform those duties until he leaves for his new job.

maria.mcclintock@tor.sunpub.com

Jun 9, 2005: Province Reports: Grewal Accused of Immigration Violations

2005-06-09T00:26:00.000-07:00

MP accused of citizenship deal: Grewal allegedly bought carpet-store shares
The Province
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Camille Bains

Embattled Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal obtained his Canadian citizenship by pretending he was a business entrepreneur, alleges a man who said he participated in the scheme.

Gurwinder Dhillon said yesterday that Grewal was a carpet salesman at his company when the MP bought $50,000 in shares on April 15, 1993, but that Grewal sold them back the next day in what he said amounted to a phoney transaction. Dhillon said he wrote a cheque back to Grewal's lawyer.

Grewal came to Canada in 1991 from Liberia and hoped to become a Canadian citizen by establishing himself as an entrepreneur who would start up his own business, Dhillon said.

At that time, Citizenship and Immigration required prospective entrepreneurial immigrants to manage a business that would be set up within two years and provide employment opportunities.

The alleged deal with Dhillon would be aimed at satisfying those requirements.

Grewal wasn't available for comment after calls to his constituency and parliamentary offices, but Carolyn Stewart-Olsen, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's press secretary, said there was nothing to the allegation.

"This is an old allegation and we're assured it has no basis in fact," Stewart-Olsen said in Ottawa.

Dhillon said he kept the alleged citizenship deal with Grewal to himself until last year, when Grewal's wife was nominated for the Tories. At the time, he said he felt he had to come forward and called mainstream media in Vancouver, but the story didn't gain attention.

The latest news involving Grewal had listeners clogging phone lines at Punjabi radio talk shows yesterday, with callers saying Grewal's political career is finished.

Harjinder Thind, host of an open-line talk show at Sher-e Punjab, said Dhillon called his program, further igniting an already hot topic.

"We had almost two hours of callers," Thind said. "Every caller, one after another, is upset."

Thind said 99 per cent of callers were against Grewal.

Callers were also critical of Dosanjh for appearing in the taped conversations to be making a deal with Grewal to join the Liberal Party before the crucial vote on the budget, Thind said.

But Grewal is getting the most criticism, he said.

"It's such a big thing that nobody's talking about anything else."

June 8, 2005: Edmonton Journal NDP May Go After Martin To Get At Murphy

2005-06-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

NDP may go after Martin to get his aide in tape scandal: Chief of staff not subject to ethics commissioner
Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Page: A7
Section: News
Byline: Allan Woods and Grant Robertson
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service; Calgary Herald

OTTAWA - The NDP is threatening to call on the ethics commissioner today to investigate Prime Minister Paul Martin over the role his chief of staff, Tim Murphy, played in the secret-taping scandal.

After discussions Tuesday night, the consensus among senior party members was that calling for a probe of Martin's actions is the only way to hold Murphy accountable for his involvement -- along with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh -- in talks with Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal about defecting to the Liberals last month ahead of a critical May 19 confidence vote.

Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro ruled last week that investigating Murphy was beyond the reach of his mandate, though he agreed to assess the conduct of the two MPs.

"To me it seems virtually impossible to conduct his investigation without examining the actions of the chief of staff," New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton said Tuesday.

NDP MP Ed Broadbent said the prospect of the prime minister going under the ethics microscope " is a serious matter. But the more serious would be to find out that he is guilty," he said.

Shapiro has been roundly criticized for taking a "narrow view" in his decision to bypass Murphy's conduct in the investigation. New Democrats said they were "forced" to consider calling for a review of the prime minister, and even the Conservatives -- who already have one of their own under examination -- have looked at the possibility.

Scott Reid, a PMO spokesman, declined to comment on the possible move today by the NDP, saying it is a question for the ethics commissioner to decide. He did reiterate Murphy is accountable to the prime minister and follows a code of conduct for public office holders.

Reid defended Murphy, saying he is vindicated each time new information damaging to the Conservatives emerges from the secret recordings.

While the latest twist places additional pressure on the government, the taping scandal is also causing angst and division in the Conservative party.

Tory Leader Stephen Harper continued to defend Grewal's allegations, and his integrity, and said the onus should rest solely on the Liberals.

"Somebody should ask Mr. Dosanjh or Mr. Murphy if they're actually denying saying anything on the tape, because they sure as hell did," Harper said Tuesday outside the House of Commons.

Some have questioned Harper's handling of the affair, including B.C. Tory Randy White, who called the decision to send Grewal on indefinite, paid stress leave Monday "perplexing."

"I've been a CEO and manager all my life and I've never seen anything like this," White said. "I just don't agree with stress leave for politicians. Come on. We're in the business of stress."

Word also emerged Tuesday that two Tory strategists -- Jim Armour and Mike Storeshaw -- have quit the party for other work, while other Conservatives admit to growing increasingly frustrated by the fallout of a scandal that has left the Tories looking as bad as the Liberals.

Also on Tuesday, Transport Canada confirmed it is looking into a June 4 incident involving a possible security breach at a Vancouver airport.

Grewal reportedly asked airport staff, and later passengers, to transport audio tapes for him on a flight to Ottawa. He did so successfully in what may be a violation of federal aviation laws. Party spokesman Geoff Norquay said Tuesday the tapes were of original telephone conversations relating to what the Tories contend was a sting operation exposing the Liberal attempts to buy Grewal's vote.

The fate of another possible investigation, by the RCMP, won't be decided for at least two weeks, the Mounties said Tuesday. Currently the authenticity and content of the recordings, some of which are in Punjabi, are being examined by police experts, said Insp. Tim Cogan.

Opposition parties have charged that Martin may have been involved directly or indirectly in the negotiations to sway Grewal through his top aide and a senior cabinet minister. The Liberals counter that Grewal was trying to sell his vote for a plum government appointment.

June 8, 2005 Times Colonist Reports: More On Airport Follies, And Mystery Package of Tapes

2005-06-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

New tale of tape dogs stressed Grewal
Times Colonist (Victoria)
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Page: A2
Section: News
Byline: Ian Bailey
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Document URL: http://proquest.umi.com.catalogue.library.brocku.ca/pqdlink?did=463053402&sld=1&Fnt=2&clientId=23615&PQT=308&VName=POD

Source: CanWest News Service

VANCOUVER -- Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal was trying to get Vancouver airport passengers to take a package of tapes to Ottawa during an incident that is now the subject of at least two investigations, according to a union official.

Efforts by the Newton-North Delta MP to pass the package on to other passengers last Saturday have prompted probes this week by both Air Canada and Transport Canada, just as Grewal announced he was taking a stress leave from his parliamentary responsibilities.

Grewal had already been under scrutiny for recording meetings with senior federal Liberals about him switching parties. Grewal has denied he ever intended to go through with the defection, suggesting he had engineered a sting on the Liberals.

Christine Hayvice, communications co-ordinator for the Canadian Auto Workers union representing airline workers, said Tuesday one of their members observed Grewal's conversation with another staffer. "She saw inside the package that he had tapes," said Hayvice, declining to name the witness.

Hayvice said she was not sure how many tapes there were. "I don't think the content (of the package) is the issue. The issue is nothing should go on a flight without the passenger travelling as well. No personal baggage or anything."

Grewal was spotted in a waiting area at the Vancouver airport last Saturday, asking passengers to take a package to Ottawa on his behalf. Security regulations say passengers must be on the plane carrying their luggage.

Grewal eventually booked himself on a flight so he could enter a waiting area and make the request to other passengers. One of them eventually took his package.

The MP has denied he did anything wrong. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

B.C.'s federal Liberals suggested Tuesday Grewal's troubles could boost their chances of winning his riding in an election expected within a year.

Grewal only won the riding by 520 votes in last year's election over Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal, who has been nominated to run again.

June 8, 2005 CBC Reports: Nina Speaks

2005-06-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

Gurmant Grewal's wife, Nina Grewal, also a Conservative member of Parliament, tells the Toronto Star she had nothing to do with secretly taped talks between her husband and high-ranking Liberals. CBC STORY: Nothing to do with talks, Nina Grewal says

June 8, 2004: The Now reports on Grewal's airport problem

2005-06-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Grewal checks out

Ted Colley

Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal is taking a break.

"I met with Mr. Harper today and I told him I'm under a lot of pressure. I told him I'm going on stress leave," Grewal said Monday afternoon.

"You can call it indefinite because I haven't put a time on it, but it will be short."

Grewal's announcement came hard on the heels of reports he is under investigation for an incident Saturday in a waiting area at Vancouver International Airport. He was observed asking passengers to carry a package to Ottawa for him, a violation of security regulations that say a passenger must be on a plane that is carrying his luggage.

Christine Hayvice, the communications co-ordinator for the Canadian Auto Workers - the union that represents airline workers - and a long-time Air Canada employee, said airport staff reported Grewal was told several times that getting someone else to carry his package onto the flight was against security regulations.

"He was told all along, from the check-in counter on, that he couldn't do that. An Air Canada agent reminded him of the Air India incident," Hayvice said.

"He spoke to numerous people. It's what happens when people want to do something against the regulations. We see it all the time."

Grewal said Hayvice's version of events is wrong. Grewal said he was booked on a flight to Ottawa on Sunday, but needed to get an envelope there by 7 p.m. Saturday.

He would not say what was in the envelope.

"It was a small envelope. It was something important and time sensitive. It was related to parliamentary business," was all Grewal would say.

According to Grewal, courier companies couldn't guarantee delivery that evening, so he decided to go to the airport and see if he could find another MP to take the envelope to Ottawa for him on the Saturday morning flight. Failing that, he said, he was prepared to fly to the capital a day earlier than planned to make sure the envelope arrived on time.

"Before I checked in, I asked (airline staff) if they found any of my colleagues. They said no," Grewal said.

Hayvice said Grewal did ask several staffers if any other MPs were on the passenger list, but was told the information was confidential and could not be given to him.

Grewal said he told several airline employees what he wanted to do and claims none of them objected. Hayvice said several staffers told him he was breaking security rules.

Grewal said he spotted a man he recognized in the waiting lounge and approached him.

"I introduced myself and asked if he would take the envelope. He was not an MP, but I had travelled with him before. He agreed and inspected the contents of the envelope. It was open and he sealed it," Grewal said.

He would not identify the man who took the envelope onto the flight.

Transport Canada's Rod Nelson would not say if Grewal had broken any security rules or what, if any, penalties might apply.

June 8, 2005: Nina says she had nothing to do with the talks

2005-06-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

The Toronto Star
June 8, 2005 Wednesday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A06

HEADLINE: Not part of talks, Nina Grewal says

BYLINE: Sean Gordon Ottawa Bureau, Toronto Star

After more than two weeks of silence, Tory MP Nina Grewal says she had nothing to do with secret talks between her husband and senior Liberals concerning patronage plums in return for helping the government win a crucial vote.

Though Grewal has been conspicuously tight-lipped since allegations first surfaced of a possible Senate seat as a reward for her support in last month's budget vote, the Star caught up with the rookie MP in a Parliament Hill hallway.

Controversy has dogged her husband Gurmant Grewal since news first broke that he secretly taped conversations last month with the Liberals. Since then, allegations have surfaced that tapes of those discussions have been altered and that Grewal asked passengers on a flight from Vancouver to Ottawa this weekend to take a package for him. The Star yesterday confirmed the package contained another secret tape of his conversations with the Liberals.

While her husband clearly talked about an appointment to the Senate for her, Nina Grewal told the Star yesterday "nobody approached me, I wasn't part of any negotiations."

But even if she wasn't party to the actual discussions, there are indications she knew they were taking place.

According to the tapes made by Gurmant Grewal, he claimed to have consulted his wife about switching parties, adding "but we are not decided, we have not made up our minds yet." The Grewals, the first husband-and-wife team of MPs in Canadian history, both represent British Columbia ridings.When asked about the fact that her husband appeared to be bartering her job on her behalf - transcripts of the tapes also show it is understood that both MPs were to be part of any eventual deal - Grewal said: "I have no comment."

But the mere fact Nina Grewal wasn't privy to the discussions concerning her future has raised concerns with the Commons' other female Sikh MP.

Liberal Ruby Dhalla (Brampton-Springdale) said: "Being a progressive Sikh and a progressive woman, I think she should speak for herself."

She also said that the entire episode risks cementing negative stereotypes that Indo-Canadian women are subservient to the wishes of their husbands.

"I've spoken to many other community leaders, both male and female, and all of them thought it's really unfortunate that he was speaking on her behalf. I mean, they're two separate people. It's not a buy one, get one free situation," she said, pointing out that Nina Grewal is vice-chair of an all-party parliamentary sub-committee on the status of women.Gurmant Grewal returned Monday night to Vancouver on a "temporary stress leave."

Despite his withdrawal from the political scene, which came about after a tense meeting with Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Nina Grewal said her husband is feeling just fine.

"He's in high spirits," Nina Grewal said. "We're both still fighting for the right cause."

Grewal stepped forward on the eve of the May 19 budget vote with allegations he and his wife had been offered plum appointments in exchange for abstaining on a motion that could have toppled the minority government.

This weekend, he ran into trouble at Vancouver airport trying to rush audio tapes to Ottawa after angry Conservative officials discovered he hadn't given them all the recordings of his secretly taped negotiations with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, the Prime Minister's chief of staff.

Late last week, Harper's aides learned from media reports that Grewal had not turned over the full record of his talks with the Liberals to the Tory leader's office.

Responding to demands that he send the missing tapes to Harper immediately, Grewal allegedly entered a restricted area at the airport on June 4 to hunt for a passenger to deliver an envelope containing the recordings to Ottawa.

As news of that incident erupted on Monday, Harper was still reluctant to sanction Grewal. But that all changed when Grewal, in a meeting with Harper, claimed he had not given the tapes to anyone to have them carried to Ottawa for him.

By then, Harper's office already knew that Air Canada had sent Grewal a formal letter about the incident.

Air Canada and federal authorities are investigating to see whether Grewal's actions violated airport security regulations and the MP has been barred from using the Maple Leaf business-class lounge, sources said. Grewal denies any wrongdoing.

Harper had defended Grewal for conducting what the Tory leader characterized as a justified sting operation designed to show Prime Minister Paul Martin's government was trying to lure away opposition MPs.

Even on Monday, when the Conservatives were faced with mounting evidence the tapes had been doctored, Harper was reluctant to oust Grewal from the Tory caucus.

Harper didn't want to be seen to be throwing an MP to the wolves and he was sensitive to charges that he lacks the finesse to keep his Conservative colleagues in line. That accusation surfaced after Belinda Stronach quit the party to join the Liberals.

Yesterday, the Liberals were not mollified by the decision to put Grewal on stress leave.

"You don't need an inquiry to realize that this Member of Parliament shows that he has no judgment. You don't go around the VIP lounge to ask people to carry a letter for you to Ottawa," said Transport Minister Jean Lapierre.

Transport Canada confirmed yesterday that it has launched an investigation into what happened at the airport. If rules were broken, fines could be levied, a spokesperson said.Sources say officials are also investigating whether Grewal obtained his boarding card "under false pretences" to gain access to a secure area of the airport so he could hand over an envelope.

June 7, 2005: Edmonton Journal Reports Grewal On Stress Leave After Airport Security Incident With Mystery Packages

2005-06-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

Tory in tape controversy takes stress leave: Step comes after allegation of breaching airport security with mystery package
Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: Grant Robertson and Anne Dawson
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal is stepping down from his parliamentary duties and going on stress leave in British Columbia as an ethics investigation into secret talks he conducted with the Liberals unfolds in Ottawa.

Tory Leader Stephen Harper said Grewal informed him in writing Monday that he was stepping down from his position as co-chair of a government committee and returning home amid the controversy that has engulfed Parliament Hill.

He is not stepping down as an MP, and in the case of a possible confidence vote he would be expected to vote with the party.

The Liberals and Tories have been locked in a bitter fight over conversations Grewal secretly recorded during talks with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and the prime minister's top adviser, Tim Murphy.

Grewal alleges the Liberals came to him offering plum postings if he and his wife, Nina, also a Conservative MP, assisted the government in last month's crucial budget vote.

The government insists the Tory MP approached them to make such a deal.

"I have spoken with Gurmant. I have been aware that for some days now he has been feeling significant personal pressure," Harper said in a statement.

"As a result, he and I agreed that he should take a temporary stress leave from his parliamentary responsibilities."

The matter is now being investigated by federal ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro, while the recorded conversations have been turned over to the RCMP amid allegations by the Liberals and several audio experts that the tapes may have been doctored.

Harper called on the Liberals to also ask Dosanjh and Murphy to step aside while the investigation is carried out, a request the Liberals swiftly refused.

"No, the prime minister will not be asking either man to step down on the basis of tampered tapes," said Scott Reid, spokesman for the prime minister.

The announcement came as Grewal suffered another blow Monday when Air Canada said it's investigating him for allegedly breaking airport security rules in Vancouver by approaching passengers with a request to deliver a package to Ottawa.

However, Grewal denied the allegations, saying Air Canada has its facts wrong. The airline says the MP approached passengers in an airport lounge asking them to transport the package. As well, he wasn't cleared to be in that section of the airport.

"Let me tell you that the allegations are false and wrong. I am denying them. And I will be fighting with them," Grewal told Global National less than four hours before Harper announced the MP was leaving on stress leave.

When asked if his party requested he step down from caucus, Grewal refused comment.

Meanwhile, support for Grewal appears to be eroding within the party as several of his colleagues refused to lend unqualified support to the MP Monday and criticized his recent conduct.

Conservative MP James Moore said the controversy that's erupted in Ottawa over the so-called "Grewal Tapes" is not healthy for Parliament.

Asked what he thought about Grewal's efforts to record the conversations, which the Tories have since made public in a bid to discredit the government, Moore referred to his colleague's actions as "amateur hour."

Tory finance critic Monte Solberg stopped short of supporting the embattled MP.

"I'm concerned about some of these questions and I'll just leave it at that," Solberg said when asked if Grewal should step down from caucus.

Grewal is leaving his role as co-chair for the standing joint committee for the scrutiny of regulations for an indefinite period, the Tories said.

In the Commons, Speaker Peter Milliken read a letter from Shapiro announcing his investigation into the tape matter and whether votes were being offered in exchange for government postings and a request that all MPs refrain from discussing the subject until he completes his investigation.

While the Conservatives completely refrained from even mentioning the tape matter in the Commons, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP House leader Bill Blaikie barrelled ahead.

Blaikie called on the prime minister to ask everyone in his government associated with the tape scandal to step aside until the investigation is over. Martin kept to his stance in recent days -- throwing doubt on the validity of the tapes and stating he has no intention of asking anyone to step aside.

7 June, 2005: K.M. Grace, Countdown to Immolation

2005-06-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

COUNTDOWN TO IMMOLATION by Kevin Michael Grace, 2.55 p.m., 7 June 2005 (originally published in 'The Ambler')

A few days ago I had a long conversation with well-known Western Canadian activist of unimpeachable integrity, a fellow I have known since 1992. Mostly I listened, and he ranted. Canada was no longer a democracy, he told me. The Liberals must be brought down. By any means necessary. If this means working with "the Devil," he said, so be it. Yes, we were talking about Gurmant Grewal.

One does get weary of being accused of trading in moral equivalency. My activist friend berated me hotly for harping on the Conservative mote while ignoring the Liberal beam. I responded, as politely as I could, that I didn't need (or appreciate) any lectures on Liberal perfidy. My record in this regard speaks for itself. Even so, said my friend, it's well past time all you fair-weather friends in the media got behind Stephen Harper and his party.

Bollocks to that. If the Conservatives or any other party want my services as a propagandist, they can make me an offer, and I might consider it. The enemy of my enemy is not my friend. I had hoped the Canadian "Right" had put aside Pecksniffery when it put paid to Preston Manning. No such luck. One gets especially weary of being told that "Everybody's doing it" is not a good excuse. It's a perfectly good excuse, if the "it" in question is blameless. There is nothing wrong with inducing MPs to cross the floor or step aside with the promise of future preferment. This is called "patronage," and, yes, everybody does it. People do not enter politics because they want to "make the world a better place" or whatever; they enter politics because they want to get ahead.

The Conservative Party is not a crusade. It is a party conceived in deceit and betrayal, midwifed by oligarchy, committed to binning every policy that once distinguished Reform from the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives. Stephen Harper's "hidden agenda" is no agenda at all; it is a praxis: By any means necessary. You thought we stood for something, did you? Oh, grow up.

I strongly recommend that readers head over to a site called Buckets of Grewal. (Thanks to Blank Out Times for the heads up.) Therein you will find proof that Grewal's tapes have been edited repeatedly in order to exculpate Gurmant Grewal and incriminate Tim Murphy, Ujjal Dosanjh, Joe Volpe and Paul Martin. Such is the extent of the editing that the result can be described only as fraud.

And Stephen Harper and his minions are up to their necks in it. Check out this slideshow of some of the excisions. It is now glaringly obvious that the excuse given by the Conservative Party for the "glitches" in the tapes is not physically possible. Anyone who has ever made CDs knows that files are often truncated, but these truncations are caused by corrupt source materials—the computer attempts repeatedly to write the corrupted file to the disc, gives up, then moves on to the next file in the chain. What the computer does not do is repeatedly stop and restart the transfer, conveniently omitting embarrassing material. The Conservative press release was not merely a pons asinorum; it was another fraud. No wonder they buried it.

The Conservatives, presumably the Official Opposition Leader's Office, had possession of the Grewal tapes for two weeks before various versions of them began to be released. It is now indisputable that the Conservatives connived in the tampering of the tapes or engaged in a cover up of the tampering or both.

Gurmant Grewal was sent to Coventry yesterday, i.e., took "stress leave." (And did he present a note from a physician, I wonder.) Effectively—and this has been mentioned nowhere else that I know of—he accepted temporary suspension, with pay, from the Conservative caucus. Apparently Harper believes this—combined with the Ethics Commissioner's investigation—will silence discussion of his little local difficulty. Sorry, chaps, can't discuss it. Ongoing investigation, you know.

It's not going to work. Conservative MPs, including Peter MacKay, are putting as much daylight between themselves and Grewal as they can. Grewal, as Saturday's nervous collapse at Vancouver Airport testifies, has added desperation and madness to his previously existing character set of ignorance, arrogance, stupidity, vanity and venality. It is a near certainty he will shortly shop Harper just as he shopped Murphy and Dosanjh.

Shortly, too, the Press Gallery will wake from its slumber and ask Stephen Harper some pertinent questions:

What was the provenance of the Grewal tapes for the fortnight after his May 18 press conference?
Who tampered with the tapes?
Who authorized the release of the tampered tapes?
Who authorized the June 2 press release?
And that old Watergate favourite: What did Stephen Harper know, and when did he know it?

I was wrong about the Grewal affair. It is not a "skit." It has become a conflagration that will consume Stephen Harper and doom any chance the Conservatives had of ousting Paul Martin. So my question for my Western Canadian activist friend (and all the other members of the Our Stephen Harper Fan Club) is this: How do you like your cloven-hoofed boy now?

June 7, 2004: Sangha confirms Kalia

2005-06-07T07:09:00.002-07:00

Report by: Terry Milewski
Length: 6:08

TM = Terry Milewski
SK = Sudesh Kalia
AS = Amrik Sangha

(0:40)

SK: This is my office telephone. Mr. Grewal called me six, seven times within ten days before the May fifteenth, looking for me. I have one record on my call display, his number may the seventh, from his house to my office and he left the message: please call me, looking for me.

TM: Sudesh Kalia is the man in the middle of the wrangling over who called who first. He was a supporter of Grewal in the last two campaigns: raising money, knocking on doors, even though Kalia is a liberal. He says that is Grewal called him looking to join the liberals, and not for the first time.

(1:15)

SK: Actually two, three years back he also talked to me about this.

TM: Two or three years back?

SK: Yes.

TM: About what?

SK: Well he wanted to join the Liberals.

TM: Kalia says the Liberals had a majority then and weren't interested, but, that Grewal called him again as last month's confidence vote drew near, looking for a cabinet post and a United Nations job for his wife.

(1:40)

SK: I asked him so what should I tell them, what you want? He said uh, I want uh UN. So I said for you and he said no for Nina. So then I ask him anything else if UN not possible so anything else? He said UN or senate.

TM: For Nina?

SK: For Nina and cabinet for myself

TM: He said that right off the bat that he wanted to be a cabinet minister?

SK: Yes.

(2:08)

TM: Kalia's story, that it was Grewal that called first not the liberals, is supported by Amrik Sangha, a Surrey businessman who is a friend of Ujjal Dosanjh. Sangha says Kalia called him to get Dosanjh's number.

AS: He was uh, he said that he needed to get a hold of Mr. Dosanjh as soon as possible and he was asking me his cell number.

June 7, 2004: Sangha confirms that Kalia asked for Dosanjh's number (CBC interview)

2005-06-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

Tough days for Gurmant Grewal
CBC News Online | June 8, 2005

From The National
June 7, 2005
Reporter: Terry Milewski

These must be tough days for Gurmant Grewal. The B.C. Conservative MP is taking some time off on stress leave.

The stress really started to crank up after he made an allegation about conversations that he secretly recorded with high-ranking Liberals. Since then, there has been a lot of finger pointing.

At the Grewal home in Surrey there is silence. There has been no comment from either Gurmant Grewal or his wife, Nina, both Conservative MPs.

But everyone else is talking about the man who arrived in national politics with a bang during the 1997 election when he won big as a reformer. This was an immigrant success story: Gurmant Grewal's rapid rise from carpet salesman to member of Parliament.

But now even his friends are turning against him.

Sudesh Kalia
Sudesh Kalia is the man in the middle of the wrangling over who made the first phone call.

“This is my office telephone,” Kalia says. “Mr. Grewal called me six, seven times within 10 days before May 15th looking for me, and I have on call display his number May 7th from his house to my office, and he left a message ‘please call me,’ he's looking for me.”

Kalia was a supporter of Grewal in the last two campaigns raising money, knocking on doors, even though Kalia’s a Liberal.

He says that's why Grewal called him looking to join the Liberals, and not for the first time.

“Actually, two, three years back, he also talked to me about this,” Kalia says. “He wanted to join the Liberals.”

Kalia says the Liberals had a majority then and weren't interested, but that as last month's confidence vote drew near Grewal called him again looking for a cabinet post and a United Nations job for his wife.

“I ask him, ‘What I should tell them, what you want?’

“He said, ‘I want UN.’

“I said ‘UN for you?’

“He said, ‘No, for Nina.’

“So then I ask him, ‘Anything else? If UN not possible, anything else?’

“He said UN or Senate,” Kalia said. “[He said the Senate] ‘for Nina and cabinet for myself.’”

Amrik Sangha
Kalia's story that it was Grewal who called first and not the Liberals is supported by Amrik Sangha, a Surrey businessman who is a friend of Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.

“He said he need to get hold of Mr. Dosanjh as soon as possible, and he was asking me his cell number,” Sangha said.

Sangha says the Grewals have lost any credibility in the Indo-Canadian community. He doesn’t think either Grewal can be re-elected.

“Those two people are history for our community and for Canada. I can tell you today. That's what I believe,” Sangha says.

Within the Indo-Canadian community in Surrey, it is now widely accepted that Grewal did approach the Liberals rather than the other way around.

But something else is emerging, some allegations that first came up during last year's election campaign about Grewal's citizenship in Canada.

Some of Grewal's former business partners have alleged that back in 1993 he engaged in a phoney business investment to qualify for Canadian citizenship. During the campaign, Grewal denied those charges, but now those former business partners are insisting that he pretended to invest $50,000 in a carpet company when really he did not.

Gurwinder Dhillon
Gurwinder Dhillon is a successful builder who sold his share of the carpet company to Grewal, at least on paper. This document shows the sale of the shares in April 1993 at a price of $50,000. But Dhillon says that was fiction. The shares were worthless, and he immediately gave the money back, although Grewal kept the shares. Was this transaction really a phoney transaction?

“Yeah, you could say that. It was basically, you know, he gave me the money to purchase a business and the next day he took the money back just to get the papers,” Dhillon says.

Dhillon says he agreed to this because he wanted to get out of a failing company, so he says he met Grewal in a parking lot and made a deal. Grewal would take over the shares that Dhillon didn't want and Dhillon would return the favour. There was a paper transaction. But no money changed hands really because Dhillon paid Grewal back the next day.

“If you say whether he invested into the company or into Canada for, you know, buying business in a paper fashion, yes, but on the very next day, he took the money back, yeah, and then he...”

“So the investment wasn't real?” the reporter asks.

“No, no,” Dhillon replies.

Dhillon's story is supported by another former partner in the carpet company, Nash Karim, who says Grewal got his citizenship but never really invested the $50,000.

Nash Karim
Karim says, “I did have a personal beef against him. He did reimburse me, but I know what type of character he is … He's a shady character.

“He had purchased one-third of the share through some sort of a phoney transaction where the money was never paid. Money was paid, but returned the very next day after transaction took place, and became a shareholder into Surrey Carpet Centre,” Karim says.

Still, for long-time supporters of Grewal like Sudesh Kalia, all of this history makes little difference. For Kalia, the issue is whether Grewal has a political future, and he thinks not.

“My understanding is he's finished because I talked to people in Surrey, and they're phoning me, even his close friends like me, they're upset now because of tapes. So, no, we don't like him anymore,” Kalia says. Grewal did not return calls seeking comment.

June 6, 2005: CBC Reports: Tories Blame Tape-Altering On "Technical Glitch"

2005-06-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tories blame tape-altering claims on technical glitch

Last Updated Mon, 06 Jun 2005 21:13:13 EDT

CBC News

The Conservative party is claiming that secret recordings made by member of Parliament Gurmant Grewal appear to have been altered because of a technical glitch....

In a press release, the party said that certain brief passages of the audio tapes were accidentally omitted in the transfer to a CD format.

When the missing audio is restored, the substance of the conversations remains the same, according to the press release.

Grewal secretly recorded hours of conversations with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, the prime minister's chief of staff, about switching parties. On the tapes, Dosanjh and Murphy appear to hint that the B.C. MP and his wife Nina, who is also a Conservative MP, could be rewarded in the future in return for supporting the Liberal government in last month's non-confidence vote.

The Tories are defending the authenticity of the tapes in the wake of two audio experts who independently concluded that the secret recordings made by Grewal were edited.

John Dooher, a forensic audio engineer hired by CBC News, said Thursday there is a "crude" edit and something "amiss" about a section of recordings made by Grewal.

"Right here, we hear what sounds like an edit. We have a change in the frequency spectrum so something has changed there," said Dooher, demonstrating the difference while at a sound board.

Dooher said that more sophisticated testing could offer more certainty, but he believes his original conclusion.

"This sounds to me, not only that this is an edit, but an edit done with something very crude," he said.

His conclusions are supported by Stevan Pausak, one of Canada's leading forensic-sound analysts. Pausak was asked by the Canadian Press to carry out a similar examination. He said one of the recordings has an abnormal break, indicating a section may have been cut out.

"I'm talking about alteration. I am trying to avoid the word tampering," Pausak told the Canadian Press.

"When you are using the word tampering, that means intent, right? Most of the time there is no way to show intent through the examination of the recording. You just see that it's altered."

Dosanjh hinted Thursday that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's office was involved in tampering with the tapes.

"The leader of the Opposition had the tapes for 14 days," Dosanjh said of the contentious secret recordings. "What were they doing with them?"

bout 90 minutes of taped conversations were released early this week, though Grewal had said he recorded up to four hours of talks with Dosanjh and Murphy.

Grewal denied Thursday the tapes had been altered before refusing to answer any more questions on the grounds that the RCMP were looking into the matter.

The Conservatives want an inquiry conducted on their allegation that the Liberals tried to buy Grewal's vote, and the Bloc Québécois have asked the RCMP to investigate the matter.

Dosanjh and other top Liberals have said Grewal made the first approach, demanding a cabinet position for himself and an ambassadorship or Senate appointment for his wife, in return for not voting against the Liberals on a key May 19 confidence motion.

June 6, 2005 CBC Reports: Grewal To Take A "Stress Leave"

2005-06-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

Stephen Harper announces that Grewal is going on stress leave because of the "significant personal pressure" he has been feeling. Grewal will not be present in the House or attend committee meetings, but he will still be a member of the Conservative caucus. CBC STORY: MP Grewal goes on stress leave

June 6, 2005: The Hill Times: But should Murphy have been involved?

2005-06-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

But should Murphy have been involved? Some say the PM's chief of staff should never have been involved in the now infamous talks with Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal. Others say it's his job
Rana, F Abbas. The Hill Times. Jun 6, 2005., Iss. 790; pg. 1

Abstract (Document Summary)
"It would have been more appropriate if [Tim Murphy] had said, 'I'm here to listen.'If you're thinking about abstaining, if you and your wife are thinking about crossing over, I'm here to listen, I'm not here in a position to offer anything, at this point, but I'll certainly be happy to hear you out."

"Tim was very very correct, I want to emphasize that. He said, 'You're going to be welcome.'To say much more than that would have been foolish on his part and he didn't. I thought he was very disciplined and very correct."

"At this stage, there's no way they're going to ask Murphy to stand down until it's resolved because a resolution to this may never come. It's an issue that people argue about, but inducing people to cross the floor has been going on forever, one way, or, the other. They don't always cross for Cabinet posts, but they very seldom ever cross out of straightforward matters of principle without anything being done at the other end."

Full Text (2115 words)
Copyright Hill Times Publishing Jun 6, 2005
Some political players on both sides of the fence say even though Prime Minister Paul Martin is running a wobbly minority government and a defeat in the crucial May 19 budget vote in the House could have toppled it, the chief of staff to the Prime Minister of Canada should never have dropped obvious hints of a possible reward to Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal in private conversations in exchange for either abstaining from voting against the government or joining the Liberal caucus.

Some say Tim Murphy should never have been involved in the talks, period. Others say it's his job.

"It is a minority Parliament and things are a little bit different and certainly it was coming up to a what everybody characterized as, 'the most crucial vote in decades in the House of Commons,' but you have to, at the same time, step back and look at the big picture and see; where are you crossing the line and what is the ethical and proper thing to do,"said former NDP MP Dick Proctor a former chief of staff to Mr. Layton (Toronto- Danforth, Ont.) and a former chief of staff to former NDP leader Ed Broadbent (Ottawa Centre, Ont.) from 1979-80.

"It would have been more appropriate if Murphy had said, 'I'm here to listen.'If you're thinking about abstaining, if you and your wife are thinking about crossing over, I'm here to listen, I'm not here in a position to offer anything, at this point, but I'll certainly be happy to hear you out."

A day before the May 19 vote in the House, Mr. Grewal (Newton-North Delta, B.C.) caused an unprecedented political firestorm on the federal political scene when he said that senior Liberals approached him with the offer of a Cabinet, Senate or diplomatic job to him and his wife, Conservative MP Nina Grewal (Fleetwood-Port Kells, B.C.), if both would either abstain from voting against the government or break ranks with their party. Mr. Grewal dropped a bombshell when he said he had secretly recorded those conversations spanning over four hours between himself, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh (Vancouver South, B.C.) and Mr. Murphy.

The Liberals have steadfastly denied any offers were made to Mr. Grewal.

Initially, Mr. Grewal released only eight minutes of the taped conversation with Mr. Murphy.

Once the story surfaced, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe (Laurier-Sainte Marie, Que.) wrote a letter to the RCMP to investigate the issue and NDP Whip Yvon Godin (Acadie- Bathurst, N.B.) asked Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro to conduct an investigation.

Last week, under pressure from the media and politicians from all the parties, Mr. Grewal released the transcripts and tapes of about 96 minutes of conversations which showed that although no explicit offer was made by the Liberals, there were obvious indications from Mr. Dosanjh and Mr. Murphy that after the vote, Mr. and Ms. Grewal might be rewarded if they abstained from voting or joined the governing party.

"Nobody will make you a totally blunt promise, because that is just not done in politics, usually. Going into Cabinet right away, that's a possibility," Mr. Dosanjh told Mr. Grewal in a May 17 conversation.

And Mr. Murphy at one occasion said: "Let me make one thing absolutely clear, that we are, we're, a welcoming party. We'll do everything we can to be welcoming. Obviously for us continuing to expand our base in B.C. and in prominent communities in this country is a political priority for us. It is a welcome mat that has a lot of nice comfy fur on it."

Since the release of the tapes, Mr. Dosanjh has said that they had been doctored, and were not properly translated from Punjabi, or even transcribed from English to English. He also said that Mr. Grewal did not make all the tapes public.

Subsequently, other major media outlets hired sound engineers to go over the tapes last week.They determined edits were made.

But Mr. Grewal denied that the tapes were edited. "No, no, no," the Tory MP told a group of reporters on the Hill when asked if he had tried to tamper with the tapes."I can't answer any other questions simply because the RCMP is investigating. Let them do their job."

The Tories issued a press release on Thursday night in which they conceded that there were indeed some technical problems with the tapes but that those glitches occurred when audio tapes were copied to a CD. They also stressed that the missing parts in the conversations caused "no significant change to the substance of the conversation."

Following the release of the tapes and transcripts, opposition parties demanded that Prime Minister Paul Martin (LaSalle- Emard, Que.) should ask Mr. Murphy and Mr. Dosanjh to step aside while the RCMP probes the issue. But Mr. Martin has ruled out any such possibility. Conservatives also accused senior PMO officials last week of interfering in the work of the RCMP.

But The Canadian Press reported on Friday that Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay (Central Nova, N.S.) now refuses to defend the veracity of publicly-released copies of the tapes nor will he vouch for Mr. Grewal's credibility.

Liberal MP Roger Gallaway (Sarnia- Lambton, Ont.) told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Murphy and Mr. Dosanjh should be suspended from their positions until an investigation is completed. The newspaper also reported on June 3 that several other Liberal MPs also said in private conversations that both of the individuals should be asked by the Prime Minister to step aside until the conclusion of an investigation.

CanWest News reported on June 3 that two prominent members of the Indo-Canadian community in B.C. said it was the Liberals who initiated the conversations with Mr. Grewal. Liberals have said since the story came out that Mr. Grewal contacted them for negotiations and have put forward a statement from Sudesh Kalia, the friend and middleman between Mr. Dosanjh and Mr. Grewal who said that Mr. Grewal asked him to initiate the conversations.

Meanwhile, Mr. Proctor said that the three individuals involved in these conversations crossed the line when they discussed the possibility of a possible reward in return for crossing the floor or abstaining from the vote.

"It seems to me that everybody crossed the line on this one. Grewal, if he initiated the thing, Dosanjh, with what he promised, and Murphy, in terms of some of his comments, which are less specific, but nonetheless the intent is there. I think they all did," said Mr. Proctor.

Legal experts, however, are divided over whether the negotiations between Mr. Murphy, Mr. Dosanjh and Mr. Grewal constitute a criminal offence.

"I think it would be a real stretch to call this a criminal offence. I think you need some element of financial benefit, a direct financial benefit being involved, and I mean, let's face it, this is the kind of horse-trading that goes on all the time in politics," said Edward Ratushny, a law professor at the University of Ottawa in an interview with CBC's The National on June 2.

But David Mitchell, another law professor with the University of Ottawa law school told The National in the same story that the incident is troubling.

"This is an issue of, again, a significant erosion in confidence in the institutions of governance of our country.The mere fact that these conversations have occurred has got to be worrisome,"he said.

Meanwhile, C.E.S. Franks, professor emeritus in the department of political science at Queen's University, told The Hill Times that it's difficult to formulate a definitive opinion of who was at fault among the three individuals involved because it's unclear if all the tapes and transcripts have so far been made public and it's unclear who contacted whom in the first place.

Prof. Franks pointed out that governments in the past have awarded patronage appointments to Members of Parliaments for a variety of reasons.

"I'm not sure there is a line in this and if there is, it's been crossed many times before. It must be like a border between the United States and Canada, an open border with a few customs formalities, but, more or less free and there might well be a line, but I've not seen it over the years. Did Scott Brison cross that line? What happens when a government gets a person to resign from Parliament to free up a seat for someone else and gives that person an ambassadorial post, several people like that, David Berger, [Alfonso] Gagliano, Herb Gray I'm sure there are many more. They did not leave their posts without the promise of something to them. The government in this sense is free to offer positions to people,"said Prof. Franks.

Meanwhile, Prof. Franks said that the controversy underscores the significance of fixing the problem of the total control of awarding the patronage positions by the Prime Minister's Office.

"One of the things I find objectionable of the way our government is run, is the total monopoly over making appointments by the government of the day in particular the Prime Minister's Office. I think that's a problem that has to be dealt with because it becomes a form of obnoxious patronage,"said Prof. Franks.

Patrick Gossage, former press secretary to former primer minister Pierre Trudeau who now is the president of Media Profile Management, a public relations firm based in Toronto, told The Hill Times that it's not unusual for a chief of staff to a Prime Minister to engage in conversations with MPs who may be interested in crossing the floor of the House of Commons. He argued that Mr. Murphy did nothing wrong by engaging in these conversations because he did not make any concrete offer to Mr. Grewal. "To be shocked that these negotiations go on from time to time in situations like this is just totally naive on the part of both people and the media. These things go on and the fact is that Murphy got entrapped by the guy recording him; otherwise, who knows there may have been other conversations,"said Mr. Gossage.

"Tim was very very correct, I want to emphasize that. He said, 'You're going to be welcome.'To say much more than that would have been foolish on his part and he didn't. I thought he was very disciplined and very correct."

Goldy Hyder, former chief of staff to former PC leader Joe Clark, said that although there are some ethical issues involved in negotiations when senior political staffers to leaders of ruling parties conduct similar negotiations, he pointed out that it's not "earth shattering" that these kinds of talks go on.

"It's not an earth-shattering revelation that such things happen. I suspect, it's neither the first nor the last [time it will happen]. It's unfortunate, but, it seems to be part of the game. That doesn't make it right but to deny that these things take place would be rather naive."

But another former chief of staff to a former federal party leader, disagreed and said that aside from the ethical issues, the PMO should not have been involved because now Mr. Martin is in a tough situation and is bound to defend his chief of staff.

The former chief of staff, who did not want to identified, said that negotiations with Mr. Grewal should have been conducted by a friend or close adviser of Mr. Martin's, but not a PMO official, adding that once things firmed up then Mr. Murphy should have met with Mr. Grewal.

Another Liberal insider, however, said many political operatives on the Hill and in Ottawa are still trying to get over the fact that Mr. Grewal actually secretly taped these conversations and then publicly released them, which is believed to be a first in Canadian political history. The Liberal said most are more offended more by that than by Mr. Murphy's role in any talks.

In fact, the Liberal said if a deal were in the offing, the Liberals would have to send in a high-level official, "somebody with credibility and authority," in order to illustrate that the Liberals were serious.

"You don't send the private to negotiate the truce. You send your top gun and that's how this game is played.

"At this stage, there's no way they're going to ask Murphy to stand down until it's resolved because a resolution to this may never come. It's an issue that people argue about, but inducing people to cross the floor has been going on forever, one way, or, the other. They don't always cross for Cabinet posts, but they very seldom ever cross out of straightforward matters of principle without anything being done at the other end."

- With files from Kate Malloy

Arana@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

June 6, 2005: The Now: Ethics commissioner looks into Grewal's tapes

2005-06-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ethics commissioner looks into Grewal's tapes

Ted Colley

Federal ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro announced Friday his office has launched an official investigation into the Gurmant Grewal secret tape affair.

The investigation will try to determine if the Liberals tried to bribe Grewal or whether he approached the government looking for a payoff in return for crossing the floor.

Grewal denied suggestions by experts his secret recordings of discussions with high-ranking Liberals may have been edited.

Asked if the recordings had been edited in any way, Grewal said, "No."

Several experts engaged by various media outlets to analyze the recordings have concluded that audio irregularities on one of the tapes could be the result of editing.

"It sounds like an audio edit. I'm saying that based on the millions of audio edits I've done," Algonquin College professor and audio engineer Randy Dash said Thursday.

Dash was asked to examine the recordings by CanWest News Service.

Dash's findings were supported by forensic scientist Stevan Pausak who said a gap in a recorded phone conversation between Grewal and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh could be due to editing.

The recordings are part of several hours worth made secretly by Grewal, who claims he was approached by the Liberals and offered bribes in exchange for his help in heading off a non-confidence vote last month that could have toppled the minority government of Prime Minister Paul Martin.

According to Grewal, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Martin's chief of staff Tim Murphy made the offers.

For their part, the Liberals claim it was Grewal who went to them offering to cross the floor in exchange for plum appointments for he and his MP wife, Nina.

Murphy and Dosanjh are heard on the recordings discussing possible deals with Grewal, but who made the first approach is not revealed.

Grewal said he gave the recordings to the Conservative Party, who copied them to compact discs for translation and transcription.

"It appears that a technical problem occurred during this transfer to CD," the party stated Thursday.

"In two locations on the CD, brief passages of a few seconds each are missing. Mr. Grewal has now posted the complete audio file on his website."

The Conservative said the substance of the conversations have not been significantly altered because of the gaps.

The RCMP has the original recordings, but has yet to announce whether it will launch a criminal investigation, or not.

June 5 2005: Edmonton Journal Reports: PM Supports Probe Into Grewal Tapes

2005-06-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

Martin supports probe into Grewal tapes
Edmonton Journal
Sunday, June 5, 2005
Page: A5
Section: News
Dateline: MONTREAL
Source: The Edmonton Journal

MONTREAL -- Prime Minister Paul Martin called Saturday for those involved in the secret recordings of conversations between Liberals and a Tory MP to co-operate with the federal ethics commissioner's investigation.

Martin expressed his support for the probe, to be headed by Bernard Shapiro, and renewed his allegations the tapes were manipulated before being made public: "I think that member Grewal and Mr. Harper's office have a lot to answer for."

B.C. Conservative Gurmant Grewal secretly recorded conversations he had with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Martin's chief of staff. The Conservatives say the recordings show the Grits were prepared to offer Grewal rewards if he supported the government in a crucial Commons vote.

June 4, 2005: Edmonton Journal Reports, Ethics Watchdog To Probe Grewal Tapes

2005-06-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Ethics watchdog to probe Grewal tapes: Martin's top aide not included in parliamentary investigation
Edmonton Journal
Saturday, June 4, 2005
Page: A5
Section: News
Byline: Allan Woods
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service

OTTAWA -- Parliament's ethics watchdog has launched a formal probe of secretly taped conversations involving senior Liberals and a Tory MP, but Bernard Shapiro said he has no power to investigate the prime minister's chief of staff, who was a key player in the negotiations.

"I wish to remind you that my investigative powers do not allow me to conduct inquiries on public office holders other than ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries," Shapiro, the ethics commissioner, wrote in a letter to NDP whip Yvon Godin, who requested the review.

"My inquiry will not, therefore, deal with any issue involving (the PM's Chief of Staff Tim) Murphy, as such an inquiry is outside the purview of my mandate."

The decision means only British Columbia Conservative Gurmant Grewal and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh will go under the microscope in the taping scandal, in which all three men appear to barter Grewal's vote on a House of Commons confidence motion last month for an overseas diplomatic post and a Senate appointment for him and his wife, Nina, who is also a Tory MP.

Opposition parties said Shapiro's limited mandate means there is no way, save for an RCMP investigation being sought by the Bloc Quebecois, to hold Prime Minister Paul Martin's top adviser to account for the allegedly questionable conduct.

Geoff Norquay, a senior Harper spokesman, said Murphy could have come under investigation only if the NDP had taken the dramatic step of demanding the prime minister be investigated for an ethics breach. Norquay refused to endorse such a measure, saying it would appear to be an overly partisan move.

"If the investigation starts with the elected representative, then the actions of staff are fair game for the ethics commissioner," Norquay said. "I don't think anybody would believe that the staff of MPs operate independently. They are, in effect, an extension of the MP."

If Shapiro finds Dosanjh to have committed an ethics breach, Murphy should be punished too, said Karl Belanger, a spokesman for the NDP. "In our view Dosanjh and Murphy are both involved in this."

PMO spokesman Scott Reid said the prime minister takes full responsibility for his staff, and said "one presumes that all key questions will be answered" by the ethics commissioner.

But he said with each passing day, it is the Tories whose credibility suffers.

The Conservatives and the Liberals continued their attacks over the tape scandal in the Commons on Friday with all three opposition parties calling for the firing or resignation of Dosanjh and Murphy, and the NDP calling on Tory Leader Stephen Harper to similarly rebuke his backbencher.

But while the government maintains there is no basis for Dosanjh and Murphy to step aside, some Tory support for Grewal appears to have cooled because a "technical problem" caused the omission of two exchanges from the tapes, one of which features Grewal saying if he joins the Liberals: "I want to be someone up there."

On Thursday the Conservatives loaded an updated version of the recordings, which they said were complete, onto the MP's website.

The government seized on the inconsistencies Friday, presenting an "independent audio expert," a retired RCMP and CSIS sound engineer, to reveal a third problem in the original Grewal tape.

The government paid approximately $1,500 to have the retired sound engineer examine one section of one recording (out of four). He told reporters in a hastily arranged news conference he found an identical repeat involving the word "tea cup," but did not have sufficient time to look for any other new, or more incriminating, discrepancies.

Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay said the problems discovered in the recordings are a "red herring" and do not clear the two Liberals of allegedly trying to buy the votes of an elected official.

However, MacKay refused to vouch for Grewal, something Harper did earlier this week. Harper continued to stand by Grewal on Friday.

"Gurmant's story is clearly what happened, it corresponds with all the evidence that's on the tapes," said Harper, who was in Calgary.

"We've taken a close look at the tape. There are a couple of minor glitches in the transposition between technologies and transcription and they've been corrected and they've made no difference to the story."

Layton on Friday called upon Martin and Harper to "take some action within their own environment" to affect a return to civility and decorum in the Commons.

He said Dosanjh should give up his cabinet post until Shapiro clears him of suspicion. "This is what Judy Sgro did when she was under investigation by the ethics commissioner."

June 4, 2005 : Grewals Bad Day At The Airport

2005-06-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

Grewal allegedly approaches passengers on a flight bound from Vancouver to Ottawa to transport a package for him. Air Canada representatives say they repeatedly told him that using passengers to carry packages is forbidden. The airline would later launch an investigation into the incident.

June 3, 2005 : CBC Reports: Tories Blame "Edits Were Technical Glitch"

2005-06-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Conservative party issues a press release saying the Grewal tapes appear to be altered because of a technical glitch that deleted some parts of the audio in the transfer to digital format. The party says the complete audio files are now on Grewal's website. CBC STORY: Tories blame tape-altering claims on technical glitch

June 3, 2005:Edmonton Journal Reports: Tapes May Have Been Edited

2005-06-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Grewal recordings may have been edited, expert says
Edmonton Journal
Friday, June 3, 2005
Page: A3
Section: News
Byline: Grant Robertson, Anne Dawson and Allan Woods, with files from Jack Aubry, Ottawa Citizen
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service; with files from Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA - Recordings of secret conversations in which senior Liberals discuss plum government postings with a Tory MP in exchange for his support in a crucial budget vote appear to contain irregularities, according to an analysis by an independent audio expert.

In reviewing some two hours of discussions between B.C. Conservative Gurmant Grewal and top Liberal officials, Randy Dash, a professor and sound engineer at Ottawa's Algonquin College, said: "It appears that on one of the recordings, an edit could have been done."

Dash's findings, provided exclusively to CanWest News Service, come after federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Prime Minister Paul Martin attacked the credibility of the recordings, which are now in the hands of Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"It sounds like an audio edit," said Dash. "I'm saying that based on the millions of audio edits I've done."

But the government also faces a new challenge to its credibility after two prominent British Columbia Sikhs told CanWest News Service it was Dosanjh and the Liberals -- later joined by the prime minister's chief of staff Tim Murphy -- who initiated conversations with Grewal, the MP for Newton-North Delta.

Hardev Bal and Kushpal Gill said they visited the home of Sudesh Kalia, the man who brokered talks between the two sides, on April 30 and were told the Liberals were looking to lure a Tory MP.

They said Kalia raised the topic during a conversation about growing rumours in the tight-knit Indo-Canadian community that Grewal was up for a Senate posting.

"(Kalia) said, 'Ujjal asked me to get somebody across the floor, Gurmant is the guy, so I will talk to him,' " Bal said in an interview.

"I remember his words were in Punjabi," Gill said in a separate interview. "The literal translation is: 'Ujjal asked, Bring him to me once.' "

Kalia, who has issued a signed statement supporting Dosanjh's version of events, disputed the allegations, while the Grits questioned why it has taken weeks for someone to question the story. The Liberals contend it was Grewal who approached them looking for a diplomatic posting and a Senate seat for he and his wife, Nina, also a Tory MP.

"The minister gives this no credence whatsoever," Ken Polk, a spokesman for Dosanjh, said of the allegations by the two B.C. men. "It took the Tories two weeks to produce tapes that appear to have been doctored. And it has taken longer to produce people who will dispute the minister and Mr. Kalia."

Facing increased scrutiny over what role his top officials played in the affair, the prime minister flat-out refused Thursday to fire or demand the resignation of Dosanjh and Murphy, who are at the heart of the taped discussions.

"It is not their credibility that is at stake. It's the credibility of Mr. Grewal," Martin said Thursday after a cabinet meeting.

The ethics commissioner also told reporters Thursday he doesn't appreciate his office being "bandied about" during any inter-party negotiations.

Shapiro said Murphy, the prime minister's chief of staff, has been placed "under a cloud" by making a taped suggestion to Grewal that he could influence a report by the ethics commissioner.

When asked if he felt Murphy had put into question the integrity of his office by making the suggestion to Grewal, Shapiro responded: "Well, I think the cloud is (over) the person who makes the suggestion, not the office."

He has said no request was ever made by Murphy and it would have been unacceptable if he had received such a request because of the office's independence.

Angry Tories also said the Grits were merely throwing up a "smokescreen" to deflect the blame from the highest ranks of the government.

Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay accused the prime minister's inner circle of interfering in the work of the Mounties. He noted RCMP officials told a television network Wednesday a criminal investigation into the matter had already been launched.

The officials later changed their story after the network, prompted by the PMO, was put in contact with a senior police spokesperson that night.

"I'm suggesting it smacks of political interference," MacKay said. "Someone from the PMO contacts the network and says, 'There is no investigation and here's a phone number of someone from the RCMP who will confirm there is no investigation.' "

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was not in the House of Commons on Thursday, but MacKay said the tapes submitted to the RCMP were "the original, only copy."

In his analysis, Dash ran digital files of the conversations made public on Grewal's website through sophisticated software applications used for audio recording and editing.

His probe discovered two irregularities -- a remark that appears to have been edited, and a preamble by someone with an "East Indian accent" that describes the ensuing conversation.

While he said the preamble could have been recorded before or after the discussions were taped, the edit may suggest a portion of the conversation was removed.

He was referring to a phrase in a conversation "cabinet is quick" in which Dosanjh appears to tell Grewal he could expect a quick cabinet appointment. Dash says the phrase "cuts off" in the middle and "then it jumps back as if it were cut and pasted. That could definitely be an edit."

Though his findings call into question MacKay's claim the recordings are "pristine," they also contradict Liberal allegations Wednesday that gross manipulations have taken place. Martin said the prospect the tapes were doctored is "very, very disturbing" and he urged the Tories to explain the discrepancies.

Asked point-blank if the tapes had been spliced, Harper spokesman Geoff Norquay said: "Of course not."

He added the Conservatives can account for the whereabouts of the recordings for the two weeks they were in Tory custody being translated and transcribed by party staffers and an outside agency in preparation for public distribution.

June 3, 2005: two say it was the Liberals who approached Grewal

2005-06-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

Buried within the June 3rd story about the opinion of forensic audio specialist, Randy Dash, quoted in full here, are statements of two men who say that it was the Liberals who approached Grewal, not the other way around.

But the government on Thursday faced another challenge to its credibility after two prominent British Columbia Sikhs told CanWest News Service it was Dosanjh and the Liberals _ later joined by the prime minister's chief of staff Tim Murphy _ who initiated conversations with Grewal.

Hardev Bal and Kushpal Gill said they visited the home of Sudesh Kalia, the man who brokered talks between the two sides, on April 30 and were told the Liberals were looking to lure a Tory MP.

They said Kalia raised the topic during a conversation about growing rumours in the tight-knit Indo-Canadian community that Grewal was up for a Senate posting.

"(Kalia) said 'Ujjal asked me to get somebody across the floor, Gurmant is the guy, so I will talk to him,'" Bal said in an interview.

"I remember his words were in Punjabi," Gill said in a separate interview. "The literal translation is: `Ujjal asked, Bring him to me once.'"

Kalia, who has issued a signed statement supporting Dosanjh's version of events, disputed the allegations, while the Grits questioned why it has taken weeks for someone to question the story. The Liberals contend it was Grewal who approached them looking for a diplomatic posting and a Senate seat for he and his wife, Nina, also a Tory MP.

"The minister gives this no credence whatsoever," Ken Polk, a spokesman for Dosanjh, said of the allegations by the two B.C. men. "It took the Tories two weeks to produce tapes that appear to have been doctored. And it has taken longer to produce people who will dispute the minister and Mr. Kalia."

June 3, 2005: Dash: 'It sounds like an audio edit'

2005-06-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Grewal tapes may have been edited, expert says; [1]
Grant Robertson, Anne Dawson and Allan Woods. CanWest News. Don Mills, Ont.: Jun 3, 2005. pg. 1

OTTAWA - Recordings of secret conversations in which senior Liberals discuss plum government postings with a Tory MP in exchange for his support in a crucial budget vote appear to contain irregularities, according to an analysis by an independent audio expert.

In reviewing some two hours of discussions between B.C. Conservative Gurmant Grewal and top Liberal officials, Randy Dash, a professor and sound engineer at Ottawa's Algonquin College, said: "it appears that on one of the recordings, an edit could have been done."

Dash's findings, provided exclusively to CanWest News Service, come after federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Prime Minister Paul Martin attacked the credibility of the recordings, which are now in the hands of Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"It sounds like an audio edit," said Dash. "I'm saying that based on the millions of audio edits I've done."

Late Thursday night, however, the Conservatives issued a statement to counter the expert's claims.

The party says Grewal provided the Conservatives with all of the tapes he had, which were eventually transferred onto a series of CDs that were used in the translation and transcription process.

"It appears that a technical problem occurred during this transfer to CD. In two locations on the CD, brief passages of a few seconds each are missing. Mr. Grewal has now posted the complete audio file on his website," the party states.

In the problematic passages, the Tories say there is no significant change to the substance of the conversation.

But the government on Thursday faced another challenge to its credibility after two prominent British Columbia Sikhs told CanWest News Service it was Dosanjh and the Liberals _ later joined by the prime minister's chief of staff Tim Murphy _ who initiated conversations with Grewal.

Hardev Bal and Kushpal Gill said they visited the home of Sudesh Kalia, the man who brokered talks between the two sides, on April 30 and were told the Liberals were looking to lure a Tory MP.

They said Kalia raised the topic during a conversation about growing rumours in the tight-knit Indo-Canadian community that Grewal was up for a Senate posting.

"(Kalia) said 'Ujjal asked me to get somebody across the floor, Gurmant is the guy, so I will talk to him,'" Bal said in an interview.

"I remember his words were in Punjabi," Gill said in a separate interview. "The literal translation is: `Ujjal asked, Bring him to me once.'"

Kalia, who has issued a signed statement supporting Dosanjh's version of events, disputed the allegations, while the Grits questioned why it has taken weeks for someone to question the story. The Liberals contend it was Grewal who approached them looking for a diplomatic posting and a Senate seat for he and his wife, Nina, also a Tory MP.

"The minister gives this no credence whatsoever," Ken Polk, a spokesman for Dosanjh, said of the allegations by the two B.C. men. "It took the Tories two weeks to produce tapes that appear to have been doctored. And it has taken longer to produce people who will dispute the minister and Mr. Kalia."

Facing increased scrutiny over what role his top officials played in the affair, the prime minister flat-out refused on Thursday to fire or demand the resignation of Dosanjh and Murphy, who are at the heart of the taped discussions.

"It is not their credibility that is at stake. It's the credibility of Mr. Grewal," Martin said Thursday after a cabinet meeting.

The ethics commissioner also told reporters Thursday he doesn't appreciate his office being "bandied about" during any inter-party negotiations.

Shapiro said Murphy, the prime minister's chief of staff, has been placed "under a cloud" by making a taped suggestion to Grewal that he could influence a report by the ethics commissioner.

When asked if he felt Murphy had put into question the integrity of his office by making the suggestion to Grewal, Shapiro responded: "Well, I think the cloud is (over) the person who makes the suggestion, not the office.

He has said no request was ever made by Murphy and it would have been unacceptable if he had received such a request because of the office's independence.

Angry Tories also said the Grits were merely throwing up a "smokescreen" to deflect the blame from the highest ranks of the government.

Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay accused the prime minister's inner circle of interfering in the work of the Mounties. He noted RCMP officials told a television network Wednesday a criminal investigation into the matter had already been launched.

The officials later changed their story after the network, prompted by the PMO, was put in contact with a senior police spokesperson that night.

"I'm suggesting it smacks of political interference," MacKay said. "Someone from the PMO contacts the network and says 'There is no investigation and here's a phone number of someone from the RCMP who will confirm there is no investigation."'

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was not in the House of Commons on Thursday, but MacKay said the tapes submitted to the RCMP were "the original, only copy."

In his analysis, Dash ran digital files of the conversations made public on Grewal's website through sophisticated software applications used for audio recording and editing.

His probe discovered two irregularities _ a remark that appears to have been edited, and a preamble by someone with an "East Indian accent" that describes the ensuing conversation.

While he said the preamble could have been recorded before or after the discussions were taped, the edit may suggest a portion of the conversation was removed.

He was referring to a phrase in a conversation "cabinet is quick" in which Dosanjh appears to tell Grewal he could expect a quick cabinet appointment. Dash says the phrase "cuts off" in the middle and "then it jumps back as if it were cut and pasted. That could definitely be an edit."

Though his findings call into question MacKay's claim the recordings are "pristine", they also contradict Liberal allegations Wednesday that gross manipulations have taken place. Martin said the prospect the tapes were doctored is "very, very disturbing" and he urged the Tories to explain the discrepancies.

Asked point-blank if the tapes had been spliced, Harper spokesman Geoff Norquay said: "Of course not."

He added the Conservatives can account for the whereabouts of the recordings for the two weeks they were in Tory custody being translated and transcribed by party staffers and an outside agency in preparation for public distribution.

Calgary Herald/CanWest News Service/with a file from Jack Aubry (Ottawa Citizen)

Credit: CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen

June 3, 2005: Stronach denies defection anything like Grewal's power play

2005-06-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Stronach denies defection anything like Grewal's power play
Anne Dawson. CanWest News. Don Mills, Ont.: Jun 3, 2005. pg. 1

OTTAWA - New Human Resources Minister Belinda Stronach said her defection to the government was nothing like the murky negotiations between Tory MP Gurmant Grewal and the Liberals _ she did not record her talks and her decision was based on "fate and circumstance."

Stronach, in her first interview since the furor over the Grewal tapes, said she did not do any negotiations with Prime Minister Paul Martin or his chief of staff Tim Murphy.

Rather, it was former Ontario premier David Peterson, an old friend, who talked to Murphy, suggesting possibilities that might interest her. She admitted she phoned Peterson the day after running into him at a dinner a few days before she defected to tell her how unhappy she was in the Conservative party and what a "gut-wrenching decision" she faced in last month's budget vote.

She said she did not even speak with Murphy until just hours before she met Martin at 24 Sussex Dr., although Peterson had told her through his discussions with Murphy that the Liberals were interested in having her play a significant role in democratic renewal and human resources development.

"David then went and spoke (to) Tim, yes. You'll have to ask him about the details though. I didn't tape the conversation," said Stronach, perched in her newly decorated office in the Justice Building near Parliament Hill. "He came back and said yes ... there's a positive interest in you serving in this capacity and then it flowed."

Stronach's surprise defection stunned political players and observers two weeks ago. She has been labelled a hero by some, a traitor by others, and a whore and a prostitute by some of her former Tory colleagues. The move was considered a huge coup for the Liberals, who were destined to be toppled without her on side, and is now being looked at as the template for how the Liberals may have approached Grewal to seek his support as well.

Stronach said her jump to the Liberals was based on "principle" and has no similarities whatsoever to Grewal's negotiations. Like Stronach, Grewal also had a third party broker in his dealings with the Liberals, but Stronach said she really knows nothing about what went down with him because she has been too busy concentrating on learning about employment insurance.

"They are absolutely not connected in any way. Mine is a question of fate and circumstance and based on principle. I had to make a very difficult decision in the lead up to the vote. I did not feel comfortable bringing down the government lining up with the Bloc when the only winner at the end of the day would have been the Bloc."

Stronach _ who was CEO at her family's giant autoparts company Magna International Inc., led a global restructuring of the human resources department _ told Peterson about her desire to bring about democratic renewal because her brief experience in politics taught her the "system doesn't work."

"(Peterson) said: `Look, would you serve in another capacity?' and I said yes I would and my interest lies in democratic renewal. The system doesn't work," said Stronach.

Peterson spoke to Murphy and that is when he returned to tell her the Liberals were interested in having her play the two roles.

Stronach said it was only at dinner that Martin brought up the idea that she could assist the government in implementing the Gomery recommendations.

The Gomery role "falls under democratic renewal," she said.

"When I went and saw (Martin) Monday night, he said: `Look, are you serious about democratic renewal?' and he said: `Look, yes, I'm serious about doing this and you would have the authority to make sure that the Gomery recommendations get implemented."'

"So there was no negotiating with the prime minister. It was not that at all," insisted Stronach.

Stronach, 39, conceded it has been a tough few weeks given the pressure she faced in the lead up to the vote, the negotiations with the Liberals and a sick daughter who was rushed to hospital to have her appendix removed, following Stronach's defection.

Stronach became uncomfortable Thursday at the mere mention of her former boyfriend, Tory deputy leader Peter MacKay.

"We have an OK relationship," she insisted. But quickly added: "I'm not going to comment on the personal side. I'm not going to go there."

Stronach said she consulted one other very important person before making her decision to jump ship, although she corrected a reporter who labeled the move as such saying she prefers to call her move "joining the Liberals." She spoke to her father, Frank Stronach, founder of Magna, one of the richest men in Canada, and a former failed candidate for the federal Liberals.

"I talked to him Sunday, yes. He said, `Look, do what you think is right.' He might give me his best advice and at the end of the day, he knows I'll make my own decisions and he'll support that."

CanWest News Service

June 2nd: Reporter Tells Strange Story About CPC Press Release "Suicide Note"

2005-06-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

Bucket's Reports Here, that on the evening of June 2nd, A reporter who he has been interviewed by claimed that the CPC official who handed out the "CPC June 2nd Press Release" referred to it at the time as a "A suicide note".

Mike Of Rational Reasons, also claims to have heard something similar on CBC Radio at 18:10 (I think the next day, or that evening) The CPC Press Secretary handed out this June 2nd Press Release out to a bunch of reporters in a bar. This conversation also was reputed to make reference to the terminology of a "suicide note" being applied to the press release.

June 2, 2005: CPC Press Release

2005-06-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

There is no name attached to this press release. It is not affixed with any CPC letterhead. It was only distributed to "NealeNews" in the following fashion.

June 2, 2005 Edmonton Journal: Harper Defends Taping, PM condoned meetings but maintains "no offer was made"

2005-06-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Harper defends Grewal's taping tactics: PM condoned secret talks but maintains 'no offer was made'
Edmonton Journal
Thursday, June 2, 2005
Page: A6
Section: News
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service; The Canadian Press; with files from The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Gurmant Grewal's Conservative colleagues privately castigated him Wednesday, but Stephen Harper publicly defended his MP's controversial tactics in exposing alleged Liberal skulduggery.

Grewal's tapes continued to reverberate around Parliament Hill, with Prime Minister Paul Martin admitting he condoned the secret talks between top Liberals and Grewal to join the Grits and was prepared to meet the Tory MP to complete a deal.

But the prime minister maintained he did not authorize an offer to be made to entice Grewal to change parties on the eve of a crucial confidence vote.

"I essentially said to members of the government and my staff that they could pursue discussions, but that under no circumstances could any offer be made and no offer was made," Martin told a raucous House of Commons.

Harper pounced on the shift in Martin's story. "Now he admits he did authorize his senior people to engage in discussions," he said.

RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli and Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro are considering investigations into the vote buying-allegations stemming from the secretly taped conversations between Martin's chief of staff Tim Murphy, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Grewal.

Harper, however, threw his support behind Grewal, contrary to skeptical caucus colleagues, and said he was aware of the negotiations. But he told his B.C. MP not to meet with the prime minister for further discussions.

After meeting on Wednesday with his caucus, Harper explained he first learned Grewal had made audiotapes in a May 17 telephone conversation with the MP. Grewal told Harper the tapes had "damaging" information that could hurt the Prime Minister's Office, the Tory leader recounted in his first public comments about the tape.

Harper said he trusts his MP's stated intentions -- to expose the Grits -- because Grewal was "always clear" he had no plan to abandon the party.

"What the tapes of Mr. Grewal show is exactly the process they use. I think the only issue now is why they (the Liberals) continue to lie about what they've done," Harper said.

While agreeing the Liberals have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, many other Conservatives reacted with public ambivalence and private vitriol to their colleague's ruse. Sources said there's deep distrust of Grewal in caucus and his future in the party was limited even before this incident.

He was taken to task at caucus Wednesday and told his actions were dishonest, wrong and brought disrepute to all politicians. If indeed this was a sting operation, as Grewal maintains, he was told Harper should have been informed from the outset and the negotiations carried on far longer than necessary to obtain incriminating evidence.

There is also a sentiment among some Conservatives that information remains to come out and -- if it turns out Grewal lied to Harper about his involvement with the Liberals -- he should be turfed from the party.

But the Conservative distaste for their own colleague is tempered by their deeper frustration with Martin's suspect history of denials. If Grewal's personal integrity is forever besmirched by the episode, said one, it's a fair exchange for revealing the operating methods of the Prime Minister's Office.

For the record, a host of Conservatives said they would never secretly tape a conversation and several were at pains to keep Grewal at arm's length.

"Is it immoral? I don't think there's any question that selling your soul for a cabinet position, being enticed on the eve of votes, changing the outcome of something as critical as a vote like this -- people have to answer to themselves and look at themselves in the mirror," said deputy leader Peter MacKay, who watched his Tory love interest Belinda Stronach bolt to the Liberal's last month.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, who has called on Dosanjh to resign and Murphy to step aside until an investigation is carried out, said Martin should have called in the RCMP immediately upon learning Grewal may have attempted to sell his vote.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said "everyone in this process has plenty to answer for."

June 2, 2005: CBC Reports: 2 Experts Hired by CBC and CP say Tapes Were Altered

2005-06-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

Two audio experts, hired by CBC News and the Canadian Press, independently conclude that the Grewal tapes have been altered. Both point out sound anomalies that indicate the recordings have been changed. Dosanjh claims he and Grewal had a two-hour conversation in Dosanjh's home in which he repeatedly insisted he could make no promises of advancement in exchange for Grewal's vote on the confidence motion.
» CBC STORY: Experts say Grewal tapes were altered

June 2, 2005. Audio Expert finds gap in Tory tape

2005-06-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Audio expert finds gap in Tory tape
By JIM BRONSKILL AND ALEXANDER PANETTA

OTTAWA (CP) - One of Canada's top forensic-sound analysts says a conversation secretly taped by Tory MP Gurmant Grewal sounds like it was altered.

Stevan Pausak told The Canadian Press a 46-second segment of the recording now at the centre of a political storm has an abnormal break that indicates a portion may have been cut out. The gap occurs in a recorded phone chat between Grewal and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh about the possibility of Grewal joining the Liberals in exchange for an unspecified reward.

"It appears to be altered," Pausak said.

"This brief segment at the beginning shows that it's not continuous, and it should be."

Pausak, a physicist, MIT-trained forensic scientist and former Ontario government expert, provides analysis for court trials through his Oakville-based company, Forensic Science Services Inc.

After defending the integrity of the tapes for days, the Conservatives conceded late Thursday that small gaps occurred when the master tapes were transferred to CD.

But the two examples they provided did not explain an entirely separate abnormality Pausak found.

Pausak examined just one segment of the tape Thursday at the request of The Canadian Press and raised questions about it.

He says there's a discontinuity in that audio file, what he calls a "zero-signal gap" - commonly known as dead air - of about 0.3 seconds. The signal goes abruptly to zero in that interval, and afterward it continues.

"I'm talking about alteration. I am trying to avoid the word tampering," Pausak said.

"When you are using the word tampering, that means intent, right? Most of the time there is no way to show intent through the examination of the recording. You just see that it's altered."

Several tapes surreptitiously recorded by Grewal have been turned over to the RCMP and could potentially be the subject of a criminal investigation.

He denied Thursday that he doctored the recordings, copies of which have been posted on his website.

"No, no, no," the Tory MP said when asked if he had tampered with any of the evidence.

"I can't answer any other questions simply because the RCMP is investigating. Let them do their job."

He added nothing else as he hurried away from a group of journalists following him.

The phone conversations and a meeting with Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff, took place on the eve of a confidence motion that could have spelled defeat for Martin's minority government.

The recordings suggest the Liberals tried to get the support of Grewal and his wife, fellow MP Nina, in exchange for future posts with the federal government.

Grewal has said he recorded two to four hours of audio, but barely 90 minutes were released earlier this week.

The RCMP, which has received the recordings, won't say whether it will launch a full investigation.

The Tories say questions about tampering are a distraction from the real story: that top Liberal officials were trying to bribe Tories on the eve of a crucial vote.

They say the Liberal tactics could violate Criminal Code anti-corruption laws that carry penalties of 14 years maximum in prison.

"(It's) an attempt to discredit what was said on the tapes," said Tory deputy leader Peter MacKay.

"For proof as to whether the prime minister and the government are capable of this he only has to swivel his head in his seat and take a look at his cabinet.

"And take a look at the number who have crossed the floor for either cabinet positions or parliamentary secretary positions."

Two former Tories - Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison - now sit in the Liberal cabinet.

The portion Pausak analysed contains a discussion of Brison's jump to the Liberals in late 2003.

Martin brushed off calls to dismiss Dosanjh and Murphy while the Mounties look into the matter.

"The fact is that it's not their credibility that's at stake," he said. "It's very clearly Mr. Grewal's."

All three opposition parties say Murphy should go.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the RCMP contacted the party to follow up on the Bloc's original complaint that there may have been criminal activity in the affair.

Martin repeated allegations Thursday that the tapes had been manipulated. He said that raises questions Grewal and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper must answer. "The allegations in terms of the tapes - the tapes have been doctored and this kind of thing - I think are actually very, very disturbing," he said. "And I think the questions really should be put to Mr. Harper and Mr. Grewal."

The prime minister said he authorized talks between the party and Grewal, but stressed that no job offers were made in exchange for votes.

Dosanjh said Wednesday that some portions of the tapes were altered to take out parts of conversations, and to move other parts to suggest wrongdoing. The tapes and subsequent allegations of tampering have the potential to trigger legal and political nightmares for both the Liberals and the Tories.

Pausak has been involved in political intrigue in the past. In 1977, a listening device was found in the Parliament Hill office of then-Tory MP Elmer MacKay - whose son, Peter, was leading the defence of the tapes' integrity Thursday. Pausak, then with the Ontario government's Centre of Forensic Sciences, was asked by police to examine the bug found near the elder MacKay's chair. "It was a small transmitter designed for surreptitious recordings, but it wasn't functional," Pausak recalled. Ironically, a detective who had been hired by the Conservatives was later convicted of planting the device.

---------------------
For a discussion of this and other stories related to Gurmant Grewal, his tapes, and other scandals follow this link.

June 2, 2005. The Current interviews Grewals' constituents

2005-06-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

13'11

Tremonti: OK, now, you know as we discuss this, of course, voters all have different opinions, and of course, as is clear, your party is standing behind Mr. Grewal. We wanted to know how his constituents feel about all of this and we went to the streets of his British Columbia riding of Newton-North Delta and I just want you to hear a little bit of what people there had to say.

Voice 1: Uh, I think Grewal has made some mistakes in judgement in how he's handled this, but I think the fault is with the government for trying to bribe him to go over on their side. So, umm, he could have used better judgement. But I don't think he did anything wrong. I think it's definitely clandestine. This certainly isn't the first time that anybody's recorded a conversation that they've had with other officials. In fact, he'd be kind of stupid not to, if you want to protect your good name.

Voice 2: Both of them are responsible; both are members of parliament of a country like Canada. If the government has asked somebody then there's nothing wrong in a democratic country, or in any democratic form of system, to ask somebody if you'd support this particular motion or not. Nothing wrong with making an offer, 'if you want to support us in this bill, then you'd go into parliament. But if they discuss selling your opinion, then that's wrong. Selling your vote, either in the parliament or even on the outside, for one vote, that's against the spirit of the democratic system.

Voice 3: It's pretty underhanded. And who's to say, you know, I mean, who's to say that Grewal didn't pursue the Liberals and who's to say the Liberals didn't pursue him. I mean, I just think it's underhanded just to be taping in the first place. And obviously there's some kind of intent if you're taping.

June 2, 2005. The Current interviews Jason Kenney about the Grewal affair

2005-06-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

This interview with Jason Kenney can be heard on the June 2 broadcast of the CBC Radio program, the Current. You can hear the statement for yourself at here. This section begins at 6:39.

Anna Maria Tremonti: The Current requested an interview with Stephen Harper, but he was not available this morning. So to talk about this I'm joined by Jason Kenney, the Conservative MP for Calgary Southest. Good morning, Mr. Kenney.

Kenney: Good Morning

Tremonti: As we heard your leader is basically defending Mr. Grewal. Do you think he's right to do that?

Kenney: Well, Mr. Grewal did what Belinda Stronach didn't do, which was to turn down offers to buy his vote as an opposition member, that of he and his wife. It's very clear from the tapes …. Let's keep this in perspective, about four weeks ago one of my colleagues, Inky Mark, an MP from Manitoba received a phone-call from a cabinet minister offering him rewards for crossing the floor, changing his vote. Uh, he refused to do that. But he didn't tape the call, and so the government came out and lied that it ever happened. Some people in the media were sceptical that he ever received those kind of, effectively, br… offers to … bribes … bribes to do his vote. And so Mr. Grewal, I think, has--observing that--has decided that, in the midst of these discussions, he was going to catch them at their own game. Which is an absolute part of a pattern. It's clear to anybody with eyes to see that they bought Belinda Stronach's vote with an inducement to cabinet, and that's what they were effectively offering Mr. Grewal.

Tremonti: OK, well, there are a couple of issues here. There's the tapes and there's the whole idea of the deal-making. Let me ask you about the first one. How appropriate do you think it is for an MP to secretly tape conversations.

Kenney: Well, I don't do it. And I don't think it's a normal practice around here, but it demonstrates the level of … how low the level of trust has declined in Paul Martin's Ottawa, that MPs, uh … And you know, quite frankly, I think at the end of the day, what Gurmant did, in retrospect, is a public service because he has revealed the kind of underhanded and potentially criminal fashion in which Paul Martin's Prime Minister's office operates. People weren't willing to believe Inky Mark when he talked about the cabinet minister who called him. Apparently they were willing to look the other way when Belinda Stronach's vote was essentially bought off by an inducement to cabinet. And so what Mr. Grewal has done is to shed a very bright light on effectively corruption in government. It is illegal in the criminal code to offer a Member of Parliament an inducement to change his vote.

Tremonti: It's also illegal to ask for one, is it not?

Kenney: And you don't see that being asked for anywhere in these transcripts. [Buckets: that is, the May 31st transcripts; the June 5th transcripts have several places where Grewal asks] And the Prime Minist… And you know what? The real problem here is the Prime Minister's integrity. Because he claimed, before these tapes were released, that Mr. Grewal approached them. But Mr. Murphy, Paul Martin's chief of staff, says twice 'you did not approach us'. Mr. Martin said Mr. Grewal wouldn't take no for an answer and was given an unequivocal no. In these nearly two hours of tapes [Buckets: at this point, 1 hour and 20 minutes of tapes had been released], the word 'no' is not uttered once. Instead they're told there is a 'furry welcome mat' that will be rolled out; that a cabinet job could be arranged 'right away'; that, uh, uh, 'I'm sure rewards are there at some point'; 'no one can forget such gestures but they require a certain degree of deniability'; they have the chief of staff to the Prime Minister saying 'the Prime Minister is saying that we're making no offers and I think that is the narrative we have to stick to'. I mean, this is like Richard Nixon's plausible deniability.

Tremonti: Well, you certainly make the point that those phrases are all in there. But what we don't know is … Mr. Grewal says the Liberals approached him, the Liberals say the reverse, the tapes don't really make clear who approached whom. There's no hellos and goodbyes on some of these tapes. What is clear is that Mr. Grewal did engage, as you point out, in several conversations about getting political rewards in exchange for his vote and his wife's vote. But how appropriate was that kind of conversation on the part of Mr. Grewal.

Kenney: Well, let's put it this way, if Mr. Grewal, hypothetically, had in fact initiated these calls--contrary-to-the-fact, by the way, the chief of staff says that he didn't--had he initiated these conversations and was seeking inducements to change votes and that of his wife, the Prime Minister's chief of staff and his Health minister would have had one responsible, ethical, and legal option, which is to say, 'Mr. Grewal, we cannot engage in such a conversation, to do so would be unethical and illegal, this conversation is over, good-bye'. Instead, Tim Murphy went to his office, called Mr. Grewal's office six times. Mr. Dosanjh met with him and spoke with him over half-a-dozen times, and the so-called Liberal intermediary called Mr. Grewal 23-times in the 72-hours prior to the vote. Does that sound like the actions of people who are shocked and appalled with an MP approaching them for inducements? Or, indeed, is it consistent with the record of people who have bought off Belinda Stronach's vote with an inducement to a cabinet job and tried to do the same with Inky Mark. I don't think so. I think it's clear where … who's wearing the ethical problem here.

(13'11)

Tremonti: OK, now, you know as we discuss this, of course, voters all have different opinions, and of course, as is clear, your party is standing behind Mr. Grewal. We wanted to know how his constituents feel about all of this and we went to the streets of his British Columbia riding of Newton-North Delta and I just want you to hear a little bit of what people there had to say.

Voice 1: Uh, I think Grewal has made some mistakes in judgement in how he's handled this, but I think the fault is with the government for trying to bribe him to go over on their side. So, umm, he could have used better judgement. But I don't think he did anything wrong. I think it's definitely clandestine. This certainly isn't the first time that anybody's recorded a conversation that they've had with other officials. In fact, he'd be kind of stupid not to, if you want to protect your good name.

Voice 2: Both of them are responsible; both are members of parliament of a country like Canada. If the government has asked somebody then there's nothing wrong in a democratic country, or in any democratic form of system, to ask somebody if you'd support this particular motion or not. Nothing wrong with making an offer, 'if you want to support us in this bill, then you'd go into parliament. But if they discuss selling your opinion, then that's wrong. Selling your vote, either in the parliament or even on the outside, for one vote, that's against the spirit of the democratic system.

Voice 3: It's pretty underhanded. And who's to say, you know, I mean, who's to say that Grewal didn't pursue the Liberals and who's to say the Liberals didn't pursue him. I mean, I just think it's underhanded just to be taping in the first place. And obviously there's some kind of intent if you're taping.

(14'41) Tremonti: Jason Kenney, some mixed responses there. How do you think this is going to play out among Conservative supporters in long run.

Kenney: Well, I think that whether it's Conservative or other … supporters of other parties, what they're going to see here is a pretty disgusting picture of how Paul Martin's Ottawa operates. That, that, you know, all it is confirmation of a very clear pattern, that

Tremonti: But you heard the cynicism about both sides there. You heard people saying both had a responsibility. Are you at all concerned about the fact that this could actually bite your party as well.

Kenney: Look. The difference between Gurmant Grewal's situation and Belinda Stronach's is that she took the inducement and didn't reveal the offers that she got to change her vote. Mr. Grewal did. I don't think he should be penalized.

Tremonti: OK, let me ask you about that, because you're basically saying that there had to be a conversation. What are you saying about what might have gone on, or what you might suspect went on with Ms. Stronach before.

Kenney: Well, it's absolutely clear. She, she, she went from being, um, from being a Conservative member of Parliament, voting non-confidence in the government one day to senior minister the other, changing her vote. The two are clearly connected. It was not a coincidence that she was appointed a minister the precise moment she changed her vote on a question of confidence in the House of Commons. I believe that was clearly unethical. And, and, you know, Mr. Grewal should not be blamed for telling the truth and turning down inducements to he and his wife to change his vote. He acted, ultimately--I mean, I'm not someone who goes around recording my conversations but at the end of the day, it's the Prime Minister's staff who were violating integrity, ethics, and potentially the law. It was Mr. Grewal who's revealed that. And in that sense, I believe he's done a public service. I'll tell you this. Because of what he's done, I don't believe this sort of incident will happen again. I think the prime minister's staff and ministers will be far, far more careful in the future

Tremonti: Or check for bugs.

Kenney: (laughing) before they try buying people off and in that sense I think some good will come of this whole incident.

Tremonti: Well let me ask you this, though. Mr. Harper has indicated that he did know that Mr. Grewal was going to see the Prime Minister and he was asked if he wanted him to go and Mr. Harper says he told Mr. Grewal, no. Was there more of a concerted effort? This was a very crucial moment in a vote. The Conservatives wanted to see the government fall. Was there not more of a concerted effort to convince Mr. Grewal, on the Conservative side? (17'00)

Kenney: I don't think it was necessary, as I think I … as it's … this is why I think Gurmant's good intentions were clear, because he approached Mr. Harper when he had an open door to see the Prime Minister, when these inducements had been laid before he (sic) and his wife, he went to Mr. Harper and said 'this is what's up, do you want me to pursue this conversation, I guess to find out what he's going to tell me'. Stephen said, uh, 'no', uh, 'please don't' and Gurmant then released the tapes and then voted non-confidence in the government.

Tremonti: But, that again suggests that this was an entrapment. So he wasn't …

Kenney: Well, heh heh,

Tremonti: That they didn't say please stay with us, we need your vote. Why do you want to go to the Liberals if there was no effort on the other side. That it was, 'Oh, whatever. Go see them. '

Kenney: Well, I, I, I, I don't think we've … that Mr. Harper felt at any point that Mr. Grewal was going to join the Liberals. But I'll tell you, Gurmant was willing to string them out and, uh, uh, they did precisely that. And they made it very clear that they were prepared to offer him--he and his wife--inducements, contrary to the spirit of the criminal code if not the letter, in order to change their votes. And that's what this issue is about. And the Prime Minister denied all of this. He said he wasn't prepared to meet Mr. Grewal, and he was. He said Mr. Grewal approached them, now it's clear that he didn't. He said that he was given no for an answer, he was never given no. He was offered all of these inducements. And, and so, you know, it's … it's the Liberals who are going to have to answer why

Tremonti: In fact, in fact the Liberal Health Minister will be, um, be coming on this programme, in our next half hour, but I want to ask you as well. Political pundits have been weighing in on how your party has handled this affair. Yesterday we asked Macleans magazine columnist Paul Wells for his thoughts and this is what Paul Welles had to say.

Paul Welles: Once Mr. Grewal went out and said… From the moment he went out and said he was in possession of tapes, it is hard to imagine how the Conservatives could have handled it worse. It took 13 days to come up with a translation, they still, if I understand it correctly--and it's kind of telling that this isn't clear--they still haven't released all of the tapes that Mr. Grewal claimed to possess. The fact remains that we can at least hear those tapes they have at least released and at least those parts that are in English, it really is some stuff that makes the Prime Minister's chief of staff look about as bad as they possibly could. That being said, the management of this set of tapes speaks to the Conservative party's ability to manage any complex fast-breaking file. And it doesn't speak very well.

Tremonti: That's Paul Welles, columnist for Macleans. Jason Kenney, he makes the point that what was released was very damning, but what about the rest of the tapes?

Kenney: My understanding is that everything has been released, and, uh, you know, uh…

Tremonti: Wait a minute, there were four hours of tapes.

Kenney: My understanding, according to Mr. Grewal, is that all the tapes have been released. [Buckets: This is June 2. Later that night, a new version of the Grewal-Murphy-Dosanjh tape was released that was 20 minutes longer; a few days later, another version of the Grewal-Murphy tape was released that was 15 minutes longer] It takes … I guess … you don't turn around Punjabi translation in Ottawa overnight.

Tremonti: But you can certainly do it in less than 13 days.

Kenney: Yah, but, look, listen. You know, what you're talking about now is, is, really just political tactics. How are the Conservatives managing this complex file--is not really important. What's important is whether we have a government that respects basic principles of integrity and the criminal code itself. And the bottom line here is you take away all the cute political who's up and who's down questions, who does this hurt most, what you have here is a documentary picture of a government, that's prepared to go to any lengths to stay in power with the knowledge of the Prime Minister. And that's why two-thirds of Canadians would say that the Prime Minister would lie, do or say anything to stay in power. This just confirms that.

Tremonti: Now, is it your understanding that the RCMP is investigating this? And should it? You've just made the point that it verges on criminal.

Kenney: Absolutely the RCMP should investigate. There are conflicting reports at this point as to whether or not they are. Mr. Grewal

Tremonti: Now, they would be investigating your own member as well. (21'00)

Kenney: Mr. Grewal has invited that and, I believe, has submitted the tapes to the RCMP. And Mr. Harper's made it clear that we look forward to cooperating with the criminal investigation.

Tremonti: OK, Jason Kenney, thank-you for talking to us today.

Kenney: My pleasure.

Tremonti: Jason Kenney is the Conservative MP for Calgary South-East, and he spoke to us from Ottawa.

June 2, 2005. The Current broadcasts Harper explains what he knew and when he knew it about Grewal tapes

2005-06-02T08:57:00.003-07:00

This is a transcript of a statement of Harper. It can be heard on the June 2 broadcast of the CBC Radio program, the Current. You can hear the statement for yourself at here. Harper begins at 5'29

Harper: Gurmant approached me at our caucus meeting on Monday, May the 16th, and told me—it was just the end of the meeting--he had something important to tell me about his discussions with the Liberals. I didn’t have time to talk to him then because I was on the way to the airport. I said I’d call him the next morning. And at that point he told me that, uh, he had the option of meeting that evening with—he and Nina--of meeting that evening with the Prime Minister to discuss Liberal offers. Mr. Grewal, Gurmant, said to me in his conversation, when he told me that he taped these, uh, conversations, he said to me that, uh, he had the option of meeting that evening with the Prime Minister. And, I think, the tapes make clear that that offer was on the table, even though the Prime Minister said that’s not the case. I think it’s up now to the Prime Minister to come clean on that or explain why he hasn’t been telling the truth on that. But I believe that and I’ll just mention one other thing, Gurmant did ask me if I wanted him to meet with the Prime Minister and I said no. Thanks.

Reuters: Harper defends Grewal's actions

2005-06-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Harper defends Grewal's actions

Jim Young/Reuters

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is defending MP Gurmant Grewal's secret tape-recording of discussions with senior Liberals despite widespread uneasiness about the sting operation among fellow Tories. Harper said that when he was first informed last month of Grewal's actions, he didn't encourage or discourage the Tory MP from British Columbia.

But yesterday he said Grewal had a right to surreptitiously record the talks with members of Prime Minister Paul Martin's government about possibly defecting to the Liberals. "In this business, you assume you are on the record at all times," Harper said.

The Conservatives continued to insist the tapes proved Liberals at the highest levels of the government were offering plum posts to steal away Tory MPs and that Martin's chief of staff, Tim Murphy, should step down pending an investigation. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe also revealed yesterday that he asked the RCMP to probe whether the negotiations between Grewal and the Liberals crossed a legal line.

Despite Harper's defence of Grewal, other Conservatives have expressed doubts about the ethics of Grewal's behaviour. "I don't think that one-sided taping of conversations is something that we should brag about or be doing on an ongoing basis," said John Williams (Edmonton-St. Albert). "I wouldn't do it."

Conservative James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam) admitted he, too, was uneasy at Grewal secretly recording his negotiations with the Liberals. "I don't think it helps the atmosphere of a minority Parliament ... to be secretly taping conversations," he said.

And reports from the closed-door Tory caucus meeting said some MPs sharply criticized Grewal for putting all politicians' reputations at risk by the questionable sting tactic. For the second straight day, Grewal did not attend the daily question period in the Commons.

Harper said Grewal informed him on May 16 that he was talking with Martin's government about switching sides in the Commons. That was two days before Grewal revealed the existence of the tapes. Harper had no doubt Grewal was faking his offer to jump to the Liberals, who were desperate for a few votes to hang on to power in a looming confidence vote, the Tory leader remarked.

But Harper said he didn't signal his approval or disapproval of Grewal's bid to catch Liberals offering him a deal. "That was not the subject of our conversation," Harper said as he answered questions for the first time yesterday about the newly released transcripts.

Harper was careful, however, to point out that, when he had been asked by Grewal if the Conservative MP should try to lure Martin into a similar conversation, "I said no."

Harper said the Liberals had made a similar offer to Tory MP Inky Mark to cross the floor in exchange for a posting but Mark had no proof when the government denied it had happened. "Recently with Inky Mark, they denied in the past the attempt to buy off members of Parliament. They've lied about that," Harper said. The recordings, partly in Punjabi and partly in English, cover Grewal's discussions over three days with Murphy and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.

Yesterday, Dosanjh said the tapes released by Grewal were not an accurate record.

"Let me first tell you: Mr. Grewal and the Tories have had 14 days in secret to fiddle with these tapes and we've had one day to look at them," he said. "And I can tell you that the translation is inaccurate in places from my knowledge of my own mother tongue, Punjabi, and from my recollection of the conversation in English and in Punjabi. Any reasonable person could come to a conclusion, a strong conclusion, that these tapes may have been altered."

Dosanjh put out an analysis of Grewal's transcript noting alleged errors. For instance, Dosanjh said the transcript doesn't record Grewal's expressed desire for a Senate seat.

But the Tories scoffed at Dosanjh's assertions. NDP Leader Jack Layton said someone at arm's length from Parliament needs to sift through the "very damaging and disturbing" conversations. The NDP yesterday formally asked federal ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro to probe the behaviour of Grewal, Dosanjh and Murphy, whose conduct goes beyond the usual "rough and tumble of politics," said Layton. "What we're seeing here begins to talk about positions and votes," he said. "I think everyone in this process has plenty to answer for."

Meanwhile, House Leader Tony Valeri said for the first time that the government may keep MPs sitting beyond June 23 — the scheduled start of Parliament's summer break — to try to pass two budget implementation bills.

June 2, 2005. Conservative spokesman says 2 hours of tapes 'failed'

2005-06-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

This is a scan of columns 4 and 5 of the article "Dosanjh accuses Tories of tampering", Globe and Mail, June 4, 2005, p. A4.

A spokesman for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Geoff Norquay, said Mr. Grewal had tried to record the May 16 meeting, but was unsuccessful.
“It was not released because there was no recording of it,” Mr. Norquay said.
“He attempted to make a recording of it and the recroding failed.”
Mr. Harper said thae Tories have now released all the recordings.

(Hat tip to Maritime Liberal.)

June 1, 2005: Edmonton Journal Reports: Grewal Releases Tapes and Transcript Implicating PM

2005-06-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Martin in the loop on talk of deal-making with Tory: Grewal releases tape transcripts, Liberals want them verified
Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Page: A5
Section: News
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: The Canadian Press; with files from CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Senior Liberals discussed everything from Senate seats to cabinet posts to woo a Conservative MP, but secret recordings suggest much of the negotiation revolved around how to hide the horse-trading from the public.

"I'm sure rewards are there at some point, right?" Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh assured Tory Gurmant Grewal, according to transcripts of Grewal's surreptitious tapes released Tuesday.

"No one can forget such gestures, but they require a certain degree of deniability."

Minutes after the transcripts -- which have not been independently verified -- were released to the public and the RCMP, Prime Minister Paul Martin rose in the House of Commons and denied Grewal was offered anything in return for his support on a crucial confidence vote May 19.

"I have ... talked to the ministers of the government and the statement is absolutely clear: no offer was made; an offer was solicited (by Grewal)," Martin said during question period. "No offer was made, and that is the truth."

Later, at an unrelated news conference, Martin said he was "obviously informed" of the talks between Grewal, his chief of staff Tim Murphy, and Dosanjh, but only after Grewal approached the government looking for a cabinet job for himself and another post for his wife, Nina, also a Tory MP.

"There is a credibility issue, and it is not with the members of my staff or my government," said Martin. "From what I've been told about today's tapes ... there is doubt about the adequacy and veracity of the translation (from Punjabi)."

Yet the transcripts clearly show that Murphy and Dosanjh were deeply embroiled in negotiations with Grewal in the days before the May budget vote -- and suggest Martin was fully apprised of efforts to get the MP from Surrey, B.C., onside.

The Liberals subsequently squeaked through the budget vote.

The Grewal tapes provide an almost unprecedented glimpse into Parliament's backroom dealings. While illuminating, they do not reflect well on anyone involved.

Liberal claims that Grewal made the initial approach on behalf of himself and his wife Nina, also a Tory MP, appear to be corroborated by parts of the transcripts, which are incomplete.

The Liberals also released a letter Tuesday from an intermediary, Sudesh Kalia, stating it was Grewal who made the initial approach. In return, Kalia wrote, the Grewals sought a United Nations posting, Senate seat or cabinet post.

The transcripts of Grewal's tapes clearly show at least two of those options were seriously discussed by Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, Martin's chief of staff.

The trick, as both men told Grewal, was to delay the quid pro quo until sometime after the crucial budget vote was won. Dosanjh suggested it should

be "two or four weeks" later, while Murphy referred to the case of former Tory Scott Brison, who was rewarded with a parliamentary secretary's position weeks after crossing to the Liberals in December 2003.

"What you are looking to be able to do, right, was to play an ongoing important role, an elevated role, right?" Murphy asked Grewal in one taped telephone conversation.

"And you know, I think, what I'm saying is obviously if someone does (defect) out of conviction and courage like you are, the person plays an elevated role."

In another conversation, Murphy discusses the practical difficulties of finding a Senate opening in B.C.

"I understand what you are saying in terms of wanting some sense of security for your wife and that is understandable," Murphy told Grewal. He added that the Liberal party "is a welcoming mat that has a lot of nice comfy fur on it."

Yet Dosanjh and Murphy repeatedly stressed that Grewal's defection needed to be sold as a selfless act.

"I think as you will see the PM will say we are not offering and making no offers," said Dosanjh. "And I think that is the narrative, we have to stick to it."

Murphy spells it out clearly:

"The first question people will ask you is, 'Well, what were you promised, did you seek it out or did they seek you, were you promised anything, did you ask for something.' I think we want the answer to all those questions to be 'no.' "

Dosanjh said Tuesday the transcripts are suspect and include material translated from Punjabi. "I want the translation authenticated, I want the audio authenticated," said the minister.

The New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois have asked Parliament's ethics commissioner to look into the affair.

ONLINE

Audio files and transcripts of Tory MP Gurmant Grewal's taped conversations with Tim Murphy and Ujjal Dosanjh can be accessed on Grewal's website: www.gurmantgrewal.ca

Jun 1, 2005: CBC Reports: Harper says Party didn't Authorize Grewal To Record

2005-06-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says the party didn't authorize Grewal to record his conversations with high-ranking Liberals, but defended his right to do so, saying anyone has the right to record his private conversations. CBC STORY: Tories didn't authorize secret tapes: Harper

June 1, 2005: CP: Liberals claim Grewal tapes doctored

2005-06-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Canadian Press NewsWire
June 1, 2005
SECTION: Pg. n/a

ACC-NO: 852235951

LENGTH: 793 words

HEADLINE: Liberals claim Grewal tapes were doctored, defend beleaguered colleagues

BYLINE: Bueckert, Dennis; Panetta, Alex

BODY:
OTTAWA (CP) - The Liberals claim that tapes of conversations with a British Columbia Tory were doctored, with phrases deleted and words from one conversation spliced into another to create false meanings.

The counterattack came as government members closed ranks around two Liberal colleagues who were caught trying to induce Tories to skip a crucial vote.

They shrugged off backroom discussions between Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, prime ministerial aide Tim Murphy and Tory MP Gurmant Grewal as routine political horse-trading.

At a closed-door meeting Wednesday, Prime Minister Paul Martin led a cheer for Murphy, his chief of staff, even as opponents called for his dismissal.

And Dosanjh's office released a detailed list of alterations and omissions allegedly made to recordings of his conversations with Grewal.

For example, the Liberals dispute a sentence in which Dosanjh hinted at Grewal being rewarded if he crossed the floor. The released transcript said: "No one can forget such gestures but they require a certain degree of deniability."

But the Liberals say the word "deniability" was spliced into the sentence from another conversation not released by Grewal.

Speaking outside the Commons on Wednesday, Dosanjh stopped short of charging that the tapes - some of which record conversations in Punjabi - had been manipulated.

"From whatever we're able to hear, the Punjabi to English translation is inaccurate in places and it is in fact sometimes difficult to decipher the tapes."

When told that a Toronto newspaper had obtained its own translation of the tapes, and had found only minor glitches, Dosanjh said he was not able to hear all the words on the tape.

Dosanjh did not respond when asked to confirm that it was his voice on the tapes.

In a later interview with CBC, Dosanjh conceded he was trying to persuade Grewal to change parties, but denied offering an inducement, saying he was not in a position to make any promises.

"I was going to try to talk to anyone based on no promises, because I couldn't make any promises," he said.

Conservative Monte Solberg called on the Liberals to prove their allegations that the tapes had been doctored.

Opponents accused the Liberals of criminal corruption. Bloc Quebecois MP Michel Gauthier said they violated Section 119 of the Criminal Code, an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

But the Liberals were determined to fend off such allegations.

Sources said the prime minister sprang to his feet at a weekly caucus meeting to lead a cheer for Murphy while Nova Scotia MP Rodger Cuzner was extolling his merits.

"I think the respect for Tim Murphy is universal in our caucus," Cuzner said in an interview.

"He's a man of honesty and he holds the support of our caucus."

A chorus of Liberals chimed out with the same spirited defence of their boss's top aide. But one suggested anonymously that MPs felt they couldn't criticize him publicly.

"Nobody believes a chief of staff should have acted the way he did," said the MP. "(But) they all live in fear."

The Bloc Quebecois and the New Democrats called for Dosanjh's resignation. Tory heavyweight John Reynolds said Wednesday that Murphy should be fired.

In case Liberals wondered how they should respond to the tapes' release, party officials e-mailed them a series of talking points with the headline: "Release of Grewal Tapes Confirm No Offer Was Made."

The Liberal spin machine produced a handful of messages:

_ The quality and accuracy of the tapes remains in doubt.

_ It was Grewal who approached the Liberals, not the other way around.

_ No job offer was ever explicitly made.

_ Grewal has at least twice in the past claimed he was lured and offered an appointment.

_ Given that the government's survival was at stake in a confidence vote, "it was only natural" that Liberals would speak with Grewal.

Another Liberal MP echoed that sentiment, saying the Grewal tapes now being broadcast in news bulletins are a banal occurrence in politics.

"Horse-trading happens every single day," said Toronto MP Jim Karygiannis.

"What you're seeing now is the intricate conversations. But conversations happen every single day."

He was more critical of Grewal, questioning why he would presume to speak for his wife in political negotiations.

The tapes include numerous references to Nina Grewal, also an MP from British Columbia, and how she could join her husband in skipping the vote in exchange for some later reward. She was not present during those discussions.

He accused the Indian-born Grewal of harbouring an "old-school mentality" toward his wife.

"You've come to Canada. You are a politician in Canada," Karygiannis said.

"Respect your wife. Respect your mate. She is an equal."

June 1, 2005. Hansard. Question period exchange about Grewal tapes

2005-06-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

From Parliamentary Hansard:

Member for Newton—North Delta

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister told the House, “At no time...did I ever say that I would meet with the hon. member”, meaning the member for Newton—North Delta, and yet the tapes show the Prime Minister's chief of staff saying quite clearly that the Prime Minister was “prepared to talk to you directly, both by phone and in person”.

Why did the Prime Minister tell the House that he was unwilling to meet the member for Newton--North Delta when clearly he was?

Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the member for Newton--North Delta called to say that he was interested in crossing the floor. I essentially said to members of the government and my staff that they could pursue discussions but that under no circumstances could any offer be made, and no offer was made.

Clearly, if the hon. member had indicated that he was prepared to cross the floor under those conditions, obviously anybody would meet with somebody who was interested in crossing the floor.

The fundamental fact is that no offer was made, no request was accepted and under those circumstances--

The Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is shifting his story. Now he admits that he did authorize his senior people to engage in discussions.

Yesterday in the House, I repeat, the Prime Minister said, “At no time, however, did I ever say that I would meet with the hon. member”, and yet his health minister is on tape saying, “I talked to the Prime Minister moments ago. He will be happy to talk to you over the phone or in person”.

Why did the Prime Minister not tell the truth in the House of Commons?

Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with serious matters here. The fact is for the Leader of the Opposition to deliberately misconstrue what was said, for the Leader of the Opposition to cast that kind of aspersion, is certainly not the level of stability and the kind of debate that Canadians are looking for.

I made it very clear that I would not meet with the hon. member unless it was under conditions that said he would cross the floor with no request being accepted and no offers being made.

Under those circumstances and unless those were there I was not prepared to meet with him.

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, this is another story. The Prime Minister said that he would never meet with him. Now he says that he would meet with him under certain conditions.

When the government was courting the member for Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, the President of the Treasury Board said, “Only the Prime Minister has the authority to make an offer”.

Is not the reason the Prime Minister wanted to meet the member for Newton—North Delta so that he could make him an offer, just as he did in several other cases that we are aware of?

Hon. Tony Valeri (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister gave his chief of staff one instruction, not to make any offers, and that was the case.

The Prime Minister has been very clear about this. He was aware that his office had been approached and that the member wanted to cross the floor. The member of Parliament did not cross the floor and there was no meeting set up with the Prime Minister.

Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board has said that only the Prime Minister has the authority to buy off opposition members.

The Minister of Health says that talking to the chief of staff is like talking to the Prime Minister.

Published tapes now reveal that the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Tim Murphy, made offers to the Conservative member for Newton—North Delta.

Does the Prime Minister now admit that he made an offer and that his chief of staff was doing the big boss's bidding and acting on his instruction?

Hon. Tony Valeri (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister gave his chief of staff an instruction and that was not to make any offers. That instruction was followed.

Mr. Kalia, a friend of the member for Newton—North Delta, confirmed that in his statement yesterday, “they said they cannot offer anything.

Frankly, there are serious questions being raised about the accuracy of the tapes and the transcripts. Let us be clear that if there is any credibility on this particular issue it lies solely with the member for Newton—North Delta.

Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's chief of staff is caught on tape saying that he was prepared, “to get the Ethics Commissioner to give an interim report or something to take the cloud off that would be helpful”. Clearly, the government was and is prepared to do anything to cling to power and go to any length, including offers of cabinet posts, for votes or interference with an ethics investigation.

Is the Prime Minister and his staff suggesting he can influence an independent officer of Parliament? Why will the Prime Minister not admit that he is engaged in a sordid, deal making practice? Get up and answer the question.

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh (Minister of Health, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, it appears the hon. member rented a dog. If he owned one, he would not be so upset.

However, the member for Newton—North Delta made demands. No offers were made and no demands were accepted. The tapes are faulty. There is no authenticity of the tapes. The translation is faulty. The transcription from English to English is faulty. My mother tongue is Punjabi, fortunately. I can say that Conservative staffers were involved in doing the transcription--

The Speaker: The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

[Translation]

Mr. Gilles Duceppe (Laurier—Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr. Speaker, in the tape affair, instead of assuming his responsibilities, the Prime Minister is short circuiting reality. It was all very well to state in this House that no offer had been made to the member for Newton—North Delta, but nothing justifies his being so categorical.

Contrary to what he is claiming, will the Prime Minister admit, in the light of the released transcripts, that his chief of staff and his Minister of Health were dangling future considerations, which is just as bad?

Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I repeat that no offer was made and no offer was accepted. This is obvious from the tapes.

Mr. Gilles Duceppe (Laurier—Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr. Speaker, let us look at the transcription of the tapes. On the eve of a crucial vote in the House, the chief of staff said “those people who take risk, ought to be rewarded for the risk they take”.

Will the Prime Minister finally assume his responsibilities and recognize that the Conservative MP was promised future consideration in exchange for his vote?

[English]

Hon. Tony Valeri (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister has been very clear. The Prime Minister gave his chief of staff one instruction: not to provide any offers. The member for Newton—North Delta said that he had four hours of taped conservations. He has released less than two of those. Is it any wonder that his credibility is being called into question?

I guess the real question is why so many members across the way want to leave the Conservative Party.

[Translation]

Mr. Michel Guimond (Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's only defence is to repeat that he made no offer to the MP.

If the chief of staff's intention was not to buy the vote of the member for Newton—North Delta, could the Prime Minister clarify the interpretation to be given the remarks by his chief of staff that the Liberal Party, “is a welcoming mat that has a lot of nice comfy fur on it”?

[English]

Hon. Tony Valeri (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the issue is that I see the hon. member as picking and choosing different parts of a tape, not all of which have been released.

The member for Newton—North Delta has four hours of taped conversations and has released less than two. If there is any credibility in question with respect to what has happened, I think the member would have to speak to the member for Newton—North Delta. The Prime Minister has been very clear on this.

[Translation]

Mr. Michel Guimond (Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the PM's chief of staff ruled out all direct discussion of a seat in the Senate before the May 19 vote, but mentioned there would be more manoeuvring room after the vote.

How can the Prime Minister keep saying that no promise was made, when the remarks of his chief of staff leave no doubt as to his intentions, that is, to influence, in exchange for future consideration, the vote of the Conservative MP for Newton—North Delta?

Hon. Tony Valeri (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the member for Newton—North Delta approached, wanting to cross the floor. He wanted an offer. He did not get an offer. He did not cross the floor. There was no meeting with the Prime Minister. That is what happened.

Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I need to know whether the Prime Minister condones the remarks by his chief of staff or the health minister.

The real tragedy is that we should be discussing the important issues of the nation, but these tapes are deeply concerning, so much so that Canadians are wondering what goes on in this place and whether they can really trust the political process any more.

We have now heard discussions of plausible deniability of positions. Will the Prime Minister tell us whether he condones the remarks that are now available to all Canadians to read and to listen to?

Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health was approached by a third party on behalf of the member for Newton--North Delta who said that he wanted to cross the floor. A meeting was held. The Minister of Health and indeed, my chief of staff in subsequent discussion made it very clear that there would be no offers forthcoming and that we would accept no requests. That is what happened.

However, I do agree with the leader of the NDP that it is a tragedy we are not discussing important issues, such as the aboriginal meeting which took place yesterday.

Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, we may have just witnessed an example of plausible deniability being exercised here. I am not sure.

However, I was asked, for example, what would I do if my minister of health were to have been involved in something like this. I can tell members that I have no doubt that she would have offered to step aside while the investigations from the RCMP and the Ethics Commissioner were under way so that the air could be cleared.

Does the Prime Minister have a plan to help restore confidence in this place?

Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the best way to restore civility to this place is that regardless of the debate, it take place in a civil way, that arguments be made in a way in which they can be made, that the leaders of the opposition stop yelling, trying to shut people down when they are on their feet, that we do what Canadians want us to do, and that is to deal with the principal issues that concern them, and that we do it in a way that would make them proud of this place, as opposed to the catcalls over here from the other side.

Mr. Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast, CPC): Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more important than integrity in government. Once again the Prime Minister's version of events is at variance with the facts.

He said that the member for Newton--North Delta approached the government, and he just said it again, but the Prime Minister's own chief of staff is caught on tape saying, “you didn't approach us”.

Then the Prime Minister claimed the member was refused unequivocally and he would not take no for an answer, but the word “no” does not appear once in these four hours of discussions. In fact, the chief of staff says that the Liberal Party is a welcoming mat that has a lot of nice, comfy fur on it.

Why does the Prime Minister's version of events--

The Speaker: The hon. government House leader.

Hon. Tony Valeri (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the hon. member across the way talks about four hours of tape. They have released less than two hours of tapes and that is all we have seen or heard. There is some credibility that is being called into question. As well, there are certainly some serious questions being raised about the accuracy of the tapes and the transcripts.

I guess the real question that needs to be asked again is this. Why are so many members wanting to leave the Conservative Party and why are so many members questioning the leadership of the official opposition?

Mr. Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast, CPC): Pretty pathetic diversions, Mr. Speaker. The Prime Minister is sticking to his story just like his chief of staff predicted when he said, “The PM will say we are not offering and making no offers. And I think that is the narrative that we have to stick to”, just as his health minister said, “I'm sure rewards are there at some point, right? No one can forget such gestures, but they require a certain degree of deniability”.

Is it not clear that the Prime Minister has invented a story that he is sticking to, rather than admitting to the fact that his chief of staff tried to buy the vote of a member of the opposition?

Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh (Minister of Health, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the fact is I was approached by a third party, Sudesh Kalia, with demands of the member for Newton—North Delta. Those demands were rejected. He reasserted the demands. Those demands were again rejected. No offers were made. None were accepted. That is why he is not sitting on this side of the House.

June 1, 2004: CBC reports that Harper 'didn't pressure Grewal' to make tapes

2005-06-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

Tories didn't authorize secret tapes: Harper
Last Updated Wed, 01 Jun 2005 22:04:30 EDT
CBC News
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Wednesday he didn't pressure Gurmant Grewal to record private conversations with top Liberal officials, but defended the B.C. member of Parliament's right to secretly tape the meetings.

Grewal alleges that Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and the prime minister's chief of staff offered him and his wife, Nina, also a Tory MP, Senate and diplomatic positions if they abstained from voting against last month's Liberal budget.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper speaks Wednesday.
RELATED STORY: Martin, Dosanjh question authenticity of tapes
Harper said Grewal informed him of the tapes on May 16, three days ahead of the crucial vote, and asked whether he should take a meeting with Prime Minister Paul Martin to discuss crossing the floor. The Conservative leader said he told his MP no.

Harper said the tapes show Grewal couldn't be bought and expose Liberal tactics.

"The Liberal party has denied in the past ... that they attempt to buy off members of Parliament. They've lied about that," said Harper. "We know several instances where they've done it. What the tapes of Mr. Grewal show is exactly the process they use."

Harper defended Grewal's actions, saying "a person has the legal right to tape their private conversations."

In the business of politics, "you should assume you're on the record at all times," said Harper.

He says he's convinced Grewal has handed over all of the recordings and believes his MP's version of events.

"I have to rely on Gurmant's word," said Harper.

The Liberals insist Grewal approached them with an offer to cross the floor.

While the tapes do not include explicit offers, they do suggest the Liberals were courting the pair of Tory MPs and hint toward future rewards.

May 31, 2005: Edmonton Journal: Tories Backing Off Confidence Votes...

2005-05-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

Tories backing off confidence votes: Exhausted MPs skip question period
Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Page: A7
Section: News
Byline: Anne Dawson
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: CanWest News Service CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Attempts to topple the Liberal government this spring have been abandoned as opposition parties conceded Monday they cannot continue the high-stakes brinkmanship they have practised in recent weeks.

After a month of high drama on Parliament Hill ended in failure two weeks ago for the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois when they lost a vote of confidence on the budget, the House of Commons on Monday was a wasteland of exhausted MPs, some 80 of whom did not even bother to show up for work.

In fact, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper ducked out of question period after he asked his first round of questions, about 10 minutes after it started, and was not seen again.

"We're prepared to have an election if the government tries to jab through things that we think would damage the public. But ... I'm not going to tell you that we're running out there looking to push a confidence motion to have an election. You can't take the country to the brink every week and be perceived to be responsible," said Tory MP Monte Solberg.

In explaining the poor attendance and lack of energy in the Commons, Solberg said it is usual that on "Mondays, people are pretty tired typically coming in (from their ridings to Ottawa), but insisted everyone will get "fired up" in the coming weeks.

Although the official Opposition has its first opportunity to defeat the minority government today in what is called an opposition day, which allows the opposition to set the agenda, Conservative House leader Jay Hill announced his party will bring forward a motion to expand the mandate of the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal, instead.

With Gomery scheduled to report his findings by the end of the year, it is highly unlikely the Liberals would change the entire mandate of the inquiry to allow the judge to press criminal charges, as requested by the opposition. As well, the vote is not a confidence matter, which means even if the government loses the vote on the motion, it is not bound to act.

During Monday's question period, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe also hammered away at the government over the suspicious taped recording of backroom negotiations between the prime minister's chief of staff, Tim Murphy, and B.C. Tory MP Gurmant Grewal.

They have called for an RCMP investigation into the taped conversations, in which the two men were negotiating the future possibility of a plum posting for Grewal and his wife, Tory MP Nina Grewal, in exchange for their support on the budget.

Although it has been almost two weeks since Grewal came forward to accuse the Liberals of attempting to bribe him with a diplomatic post, the Conservatives have yet to release the entire transcript of the tapes.

May 31 2005: CP Reports: Tapes Say PM Was Ready To Talk Deal...

2005-05-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

Tapes show PM ready to talk deal: CTV: Grewal offered gov't post, broadcaster says
Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Page: A5
Section: News
Dateline: TORONTO
Source: The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Prime Minister Paul Martin was ready to talk with a Conservative MP about defecting just before the crucial budget vote, taped conversations between senior Liberals and the Tory show, CTV News reported Monday.

The four-hour tape also shows that Gurmant Grewal was offered a government position within two weeks of the vote, CTV said. Only a short segment of the tape has been made public.

Martin has denied that an offer was made to entice Grewal and his wife Nina, who is an MP, to defect or abstain from the vote.

"No offer was made -- that means no offer was made," the prime minister has told the House of Commons.

Officials with the Prime Minister's Office could not be reached for comment on Monday night.

The bulk of Grewal's secretly taped conversations with Tim Murphy, Martin's top aide, and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh may be released today, the CTV said.

The Liberals survived the budget vote, in part, because Tory Belinda Stronach agreed to cross the floor of the Commons and become a cabinet minister.

Conservative House Leader Jay Hill has said the party will be turning the tapes over to the RCMP soon.

Grewal has said he was offered an ambassadorship and his wife , a Senate appointment, if they would abstain from the budget confidence vote. Grewal has said he never intended to accept any offers, but was trying to gather evidence.

The Liberals, in turn, have said the Tory called them.

Ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro may also announce today whether he will conduct an investigation into the allegations of Liberal deal-making.

The NDP and Bloc have called for a RCMP investigation.

May 31 2005: CBC Reports: Grewal Releases Secret Tapes

2005-05-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

The Conservatives release translated transcripts of hours of tapes between Grewal and senior Liberals and say the tapes will be turned over to the RCMP. Dosanjh issues a statement, saying, "It is clear to me that the recordings have been altered." Prime Minister Paul Martin also questions the tapes' authenticity.
CBC STORY: Grewal releases secret tapes

May 31, 2005. Grewal tapes mounted at Grewal website

2005-05-31T17:31:00.000-07:00

From May 31, 2005, the Grewal tapes were mounted at this site, http://www.gurmantgrewal.ca/audio.asp, which looked like this:

May 31 2005: 1st Edition/version of Grewal Tapes are finally released

2005-05-31T00:39:00.000-07:00

Buckets Reports: Here

As was noted above, the Conservatives have released the Grewal tapes here, where there are four MP3s (and accompanying transcripts) of a number of conversations:

SK tel.mp3 (8 minutes, 26 seconds)
tm-ud meeting.mp3 (40 minutes, 30 seconds)
tel ud tm.mp3 (21 minutes, 45 seconds)
tm meeting.mp3 (3 minutes, 59 seconds)

All together this comes to about 1 hour and 15 minutes of conversations. All the reports, however, were of four (4) hours of tapes.

Are there other tapes? Where are they?

May 31 2005, Bucket's Reports: CPC Leaking Drips and Drabs of Tape Recordings To Specially Selected Journalists

2005-05-31T00:36:00.000-07:00

Who is leaking Grewal's tape?
CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reports two new facts about the Grewal tapes: (1) that Martin knew of the discussion, and (2) that Grewal would get a reward within two weeks of crossing.

[A further point. It is also being reported (not in the link above) that Fife is saying the tapes might be released today. Since only the Conservatives will know when they will release the tapes, this fact can only come from the Conservatives.]

This, however, is surely intolerable. They have had the tapes for a week and have so far surrendered them neither to the RCMP or to Parliament's ethics commissioner. Only eight minutes of four hours have been released. And now they are surreptiously leaking selected details to the press?

May 30, 2005: Hansard Deals With Some Grewal Matters

2005-05-30T00:33:00.000-07:00

See Full Hansard For This day HERE.

Buckets gives a highlight of things to note:

Duceppe asked the PM to confirm that it was Murphy who was on the tape; PM answered that no deal was made.
Michel Guimond (BQ of Montmorency-etc.) noted that the tape records Murphy saying 'we can make an arrangement to that allows you to move' and asked the PM to acknowledge that this was a breach of s. 119 of the criminal code. Tony Valeri answered that the matter is being considered by the Parliamentary Ethics Commissioner.
Guimond also asked why Murphy had not resigned while the matter was investigated. PM answered that no deal was made.
Jack Layton asked PM why the government had not launched an RCMP investigation. PM answered that it was not the government's role to launch such an investigation. He called on Grewal to release the full takes.

May 28th: Edmonton Journal Background on Grewal

2005-05-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Is he telling the truth? Doubts linger about Gurmant Grewal: Conservative MP says the Liberals tried to recruit his vote, a charge they deny. However, his past is checkered with other incidents of conflicting stories
Edmonton Journal
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Page: A17
Section: Insight
Byline: Peter O'Neil
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: Vancouver Sun; CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal, who sparked a national furor and a possible police investigation by secretly taping his talks with senior Liberals about joining the government, has been a media magnet since he arrived in Canada and began aggressively seeking political office in the 1990s.

He does boast a number of achievements

He was the only member of the former Canadian Alliance caucus to get a private member's bill passed, and he's part of the first husband-and-wife team in Canadian history to sit in the House of Commons. He helped his wife Nina get elected in a B.C. riding adjoining his last year.

But Grewal, who arrived in Canada with Nina in 1991, has also been the target of harsh criticism from political opponents and even supposed political allies since the mid-1990s.

A year ago, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's office openly questioned his judgment, and this week caucus colleague Randy White said: "I don't know who to believe" regarding the Grewal tape controversy.

Grewal has said he engaged in a deliberate sting operation to prove the Liberals were unethically offering him a bribe, while the Liberals say it was Grewal who sought patronage plums in return for his and Nina's votes.

Both allegations, if proven in court, would result in conviction under the Criminal Code's bribery section, which allows a hefty maximum sentence of 14 years.

Grewal, in an interview with the Vancouver Sun, said he's a victim of inaccurate media coverage and unfair attacks by opponents. He also says he isn't recognized for his strong stands on policy issues, which include his sponsorship of a private bill that passed in 2003, giving members of Parliament greater ability to scrutinize federal regulations

He cites his opposition to gay marriage, his positions on foreign affairs issues, and his recent proposal to require Canadians to post bonds if they want visas for visitors from abroad.

"People should not be afraid of making tough and controversial decisions," he said. "The media will only talk about things which are creating controversy."

LIBERAL TIES

Grewal's first brush with political notoriety came during an incident in B.C. during the mid-1990s that bears remarkable similarities to his current predicament.

In 1995, Grewal decided he wanted to run as a candidate for Gordon Campbell's B.C. Liberals, who it was widely assumed would defeat the New Democratic Party government.

Grewal, with the help of political organizer Prem Vinning, signed up so many members from the Indo-Canadian community he appeared sure to secure the nomination in a riding that Campbell and his top aides wanted for Reni Masi -- the party president at the time.

An apparent truce was reached when Campbell, Vinning, Grewal, and dozens of community leaders met in Vinning's house. Grewal was photographed raising the hand of the anointed candidate.

But Grewal said he was trapped, had no idea what the meeting was about, and didn't plan on stepping aside. He soon quit the Liberal party and later ran, and lost badly, as a candidate of the former B.C. Reform party.

"I never agreed, but they held my hand and raised it up," he recollected Thursday. "There were so many people, it would really look stupid in front of people if you say no, no, I'm not withdrawing. They are making me, forcing me. ... I thought the pressure is so much around here, so I held my hand and raised it."

Grewal then went to the media, claiming publicly Sandy Powar, the B.C. Liberal party secretary, tried prior to that meeting to bribe him by saying he could be named a deputy minister in a Campbell government if he stepped aside. Grewal said he believes he still might have a tape of that conversation.

Vinning, when told about Grewal's comments, said they were "disgusting."

LINKS TO DESPOT

Grewal was born in India and studied agriculture at a university in the Punjab. He married Nina in 1982 after spotting her in a matrimonial want ad.

A year later they moved to Liberia, where Nina's parents once lived. The country had been ruled since 1980 by Samuel Doe, who had assumed power in a bloody coup.

Grewal taught business at the University of Liberia, and he and his brother ran a company selling agricultural supplies and importing telecommunications equipment.

They left in 1990 after Doe was overthrown and savagely executed. The Grewals landed in Canada a year later as economic immigrants.

It was in 1995, when Grewal first ran for political office, that he found himself having to deal with his supposed link to Doe, the Liberian despot known as one of Africa's worst human rights violators.

A reporter learned Grewal was rejected as a provincial Liberal candidate because he was supposedly not well known in the community. Grewal responded by sending out a resume that stated he "recommended to and then helped the president of Liberia to launch Green Revolution in the country."

He also claimed to be honorary vice-consul of Liberia in Canada, the Vancouver Province reported in 1997, citing a copy of the resume obtained by the newspaper in May 1995.

Grewal confirmed Friday he sought the post, but never became a Liberian representative in Canada.

The Liberian government "asked me if I would like to be vice-consul or honorary consul and they were considering it, but it never happened," he said.

When media reports began suggesting he was an actual adviser to a ruthless African dictator, Grewal complained he was a victim of inaccurate media reporting.

He said this week his link to Doe wasn't much different than a Canadian citizen writing to the health minister complaining about a local hospital's inadequate services.

"If someone will try to label me with president of Liberia in any form or shape that would be ... a misrepresentation of the association."

HARPER DEFIED

Grewal had another brush with notoriety last year, shortly before the federal election, when the Vancouver Sun revealed outspoken right-wing commentator Rachel Marsden, who was then facing a criminal charge, was working in his office using the name Elle Henderson.

Marsden pleaded guilty to a stalking charge against a Vancouver radio personality after her employment with Grewal ended.

Grewal acknowledged Harper's office objected to Marsden's hiring, but he went ahead anyway because he believed she was talented and "innocent until proven guilty" of the harassment charge.

Jim Armour, then Harper's director of communications, confirmed at the time Grewal hired Marsden "against the express wishes" of Harper and the party.

Though Grewal denied at the time Marsden was hired on his taxpayer-funded office budget to help on party matters, the MP was hit with a token $75 fine by the House of Commons after it was discovered Marsden improperly used the office e-mail to recruit party members for Grewal's nomination.

Grewal, who said Marsden used the e-mail for party purposes without his knowledge and was told to stop, defended his decision to hire Marsden.

He also said he didn't believe anyone was trying to hide her identity.

May 26, 2005: CBC Reports Indo-Canadian Community Not Happy With Grewal

2005-05-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

Indo-Canadians upset at Surrey MP's allegations
Last updated May 26 2005 09:24 AM PDT
CBC News
VANCOUVER A leading Surrey newspaper columnist says Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal's disclosure that he secretly taped conversations with senior Liberals is an embarrassment to the province's Indo-Canadian community.

B.C. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal
Grewal has produced recordings with federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and the Prime Minister's chief of staff that he says prove the Liberals offered him a bribe to side with them on the budget last week.

The Liberals say it was Grewal who wanted a deal to cross the floor, and was rebuffed.

* RELATED: Secret tapings latest controversy to cloud Parliament Hill

Rattan Mall of the Indo-Canadian Voice says many Indo-Canadians feel humiliated by the whole affair.

"And they're playing these games with intrigues and alleged bribes and negotiations," he says. "It makes the whole community look bad, and that's why the community, I think, is really angry."

Talk show host Harpreet Singh says its not just Indo-Canadian politicians who look bad, but all politicians.

"Some people in the community feel the image has been tarnished, but mostly feel that it's a politician's work. This thing, what has happened, has brought disgrace to the entire political system."

Grewal recorded four hours of conversations with Liberals, but has only publicly released a few minutes of the tape.

The complete tapes are being turned over to the RCMP, and it will be up to the Mounties to decide if there's something to investigate.

The ethics commissioner has also been asked by both the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to investigate Grewal's claims.

May 26, 2005: Edmonton Journal Reports: Volpe Confirms Chats

2005-05-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

Volpe confirms chat about Grewal
Edmonton Journal
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Page: A8
Section: News
Dateline: TORONTO
Source: The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Immigration Minister Joe Volpe says he had no interest in helping a Conservative MP who alleges Prime Minister Paul Martin's chief of staff offered him rewards in exchange for his abstention from last week's crucial budget vote.

Volpe confirmed Wednesday that Tim Murphy, Martin's top aide, "alerted" him to a conversation Murphy had with Tory MP Gurmant Grewal, a conversation secretly recorded by Grewal that's at the heart of allegations that the Liberals tried to buy him off.

Grewal said last week he was offered an ambassadorship and his wife, Nina, also a Tory MP, a Senate appointment if they would abstain from last week's narrow confidence vote in the House of Commons, a vote the Liberals survived by the slimmest of margins.

In the taped conversation, Grewal asked Murphy to ask Volpe if he would back off allegations that Grewal and another Tory had offered to aid immigrants in return for

money, allegations being examined by the RCMP.

Grewal was making "a series of requests, including some nice things to be said by me," Volpe said Murphy told him.

"I said, 'Look, I'm not going to say anything that's going to interfere with an impartial third-party investigation.' "

Volpe, who was in Toronto to deliver a luncheon speech to an audience at the University of Toronto, said Murphy didn't ask him to take any action regarding Grewal.