The normally liberal-friendly Globe and Mail is reporting that there is a probe currently ongoing within the Liberal Party of Canada concerning a loan made to a Sikh temple in 2002.
When even normally liberal-friendly media reports this stuff, you know there’s a lot more going on than we know.
Let’s take a moment to think about the things that the liberal-left are up to that we DON’T know anything about yet.
OK take a little more time then.
Well OK that was fun—but clearly that would take all weekend, not just a moment, so we’ll try that again when we’ve got more time.
Judging by this Globe and Mail story, it seems like the Liberals keep trying to buy votes and voters. In this case, they seemed to have broken the alleged mold though, and used their own cash instead of the cash from our wallets.
Liberals probe $30,000 loan to Sikh temple
The Liberal Party of Canada is investigating a $30,000 loan made by Brampton-area Liberal MP Gurbax Malhi’s riding association to a local Sikh temple, a transaction that raises questions of wrongdoing.
Brian Nichols, who chairs the constitutional legal affairs committee of the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario), said he will look into the transaction, which took place in 2002.
“As a general rule, a loan to an outside organization by a riding association is not an action the party would condone,” Mr. Nichols said.
“We will consult with all parties involved to find out exactly what happened.”
The constitution of the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) does not expressly prohibit riding associations from lending money, and this is the first complaint he has received, he added.
Mr. Malhi’s Brampton-Gore-Malton-Springdale riding association lent a Sikh gurdwara in Mississauga $30,000, and the temple repaid it on Feb. 21, 2002, according to documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.
The transaction angered former members of the temple. They have hired a lawyer to pursue legal action against the gurdwara, run at the time by Gurmail Singh Saggu, who was head of Mr. Malhi’s riding association in 2002. They wondered why their donations to the temple were used to pay back a loan rather than for temple activities.
“We have no knowledge about why this cheque was written, but we know it was improper,” said Axi Leighl, a lawyer who represents former members of the now-defunct gurdwara.
Mr. Malhi came under scrutiny this week after The Globe reported that the RCMP looked into complaints that he misused temporary resident permits for political ends in 2003. Mr. Malhi has strongly denied the allegations and says he never pressed the Indo-Canadian community for donations and political support in exchange for help securing ministerial permits for Indian nationals to visit Canada. Complainants refused to co-operate with the RCMP, who laid no charges. Police did not interview Mr. Malhi.
In the House of Commons yesterday, British Columbia Indo-Canadian Conservative MPs Nina and Gurmant Grewal accused the federal Liberals of trading immigration favours for electoral support, a charge Immigration Minister Joe Volpe angrily dismissed.
[…] Small gurdwaras run out of residential buildings are permitted to apply for tax-exempt charitable status and issue receipts for donations—but allegations of wrongdoing have arisen about some of them in the past. “You want to earn money, start a gurdwara in your basement, get tax credit . . . and they can earn money [by asking for donations],” a source told The Globe.
Mr. Saggu denied anything improper was going on at his gurdwara. He said it was working to get its charitable status reinstated, but is now closed.
In 2004, Mr. Malhi received $68,500 from his riding association for the election campaign, according to the Elections Canada website.
The riding association has until May, 2005, to report donations made the year before.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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