Close X
Friday, January 10, 2025
ADVT 
National

Former Liberal MP seeks dismissal of charges

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Feb, 2023 10:56 AM
  • Former Liberal MP seeks dismissal of charges

OTTAWA - A former Liberal MP is seeking the dismissal of two criminal charges connected to his time in office.

Raj Grewal's lawyer argues that prosecutors have not presented enough evidence to find him guilty of the two breach of trust charges, and the Crown has failed to establish essential elements required for such a finding.

The Crown has sought to prove that Grewal used his political office for personal gain, offering access to events with the prime minister and help with immigration files in exchange for large loans that went toward his gambling debt.

In written arguments filed in Ontario Superior Court, the defence says his conduct falls squarely within the non-criminal category, and the prosecution's case doesn't hold water.

Grewal appeared in court Monday via videoconference as his lawyer, Nader Hasan, put forward his motion for a directed verdict and an acquittal on all charges.

Hasan says in his written arguments there is a difference between misusing one's official status for a corrupt purpose and making a mistake — or even acting dishonourably — while serving in office.

"The latter is not a breach of trust," the document says. "It may be an error in judgment deserving of administrative sanction, or it may simply be a personal failing that has no sufficient nexus to merit sanction at all. Either way, it is not criminal."

Grewal, who was first elected to represent the Ontario riding of Brampton East in 2015 and is himself a lawyer, did not disclose a series of large loans to the federal ethics commissioner.

An analysis of Grewal's bank accounts offered during the prosecution's evidence found that he had taken in some $6 million worth of deposits larger than $10,000 in the time after he was elected as an MP, and that significant amounts of that money went to payments at the Casino Lac-Leamy.

The most politically salient allegations against Grewal are that he offered lenders face time with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in exchange for their financial help.

Two Brampton-area businessmen who each provided a $200,000 loan to Grewal also attended events during Trudeau’s storied trip to India in 2018.

A former Liberal staffer testified that both Yusuf Yenilmez and Andy Dhugga were on a shortlist of people whom Grewal invited to a private meet-and-greet with Trudeau.

But neither stated that they expected such access in exchange for the loans — and Hasan argues that the evidence at trial "flatly contradicts" the notion.

Both businessmen described themselves as friends with Grewal and testified that they were unaware their names had been put forward for an exclusive event. Moreover, neither described the opportunity for a photo-op with Trudeau as "particularly valuable,"the defence submission recounts.

The prosecution also alleged that seven other lenders received immigration-related assistance from Grewal's office, most commonly in the form of letters supporting applications for temporary resident visas.

Hasan notes that such letters are "not scarce," as MPs' offices regularly provide them to constituents, and they are not a necessary part of the application packages.

The idea that loans were provided in exchange for the letters as a quid pro quo "defies common sense," the defence says.

If such letters and even invitations to meet-and-greets are standard activities for an MP's office, it would have been more problematic, Hasan argues, if Grewal had "refused to provide these men with these standard constituency services simply because he had a personal relationship with them or obtained personal loans from them."

To meet the standard for a breach of trust charge, the Crown must have presented evidence that Grewal was acting in connection with the duties of his office, that his conduct represented a serious and marked departure from the standards expected of someone in his position or that he acted with the intention to use his public office for a purpose other than the public good.

The Crown has not succeeded in that, the defence insists.

Grewal resigned as a member of the Liberal caucus in 2018 after his gambling problem came to public attention, and he did not run for re-election.

In 2020, the RCMP charged him with four counts of breach of trust and one count of fraud over $5,000, but only two breach of trust charges remain.

His trial began last summer, and only the prosecution has wrapped up its case after nine weeks' worth of evidence. If the defence does not succeed in obtaining a directed verdict from the judge, the trial could continue into the spring.

MORE National ARTICLES

StatCan data shows how pandemic changed commutes

StatCan data shows how pandemic changed commutes
A million Canadians took a bus or train to work in 2021, which is less than the 1.2 million who took transit when the data was first collected in 1996 and almost 50 per cent lower than it was in 2016.

StatCan data shows how pandemic changed commutes

Snowstorm paralyzes B.C. south coast

Snowstorm paralyzes B.C. south coast
The snow and freezing temperatures turned many Metro Vancouver roads and bridges to sheets of ice, making the Tuesday evening commute an hours-long ordeal. At YVR, officials are urging patience after an EVA Air flight skidded off a taxiway upon landing Tuesday evening and remains stuck in the grass.   

Snowstorm paralyzes B.C. south coast

SFU Surrey getting a new medical school to train doctors

SFU Surrey getting a new medical school to train doctors
Ten days after being sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, David Eby was at SFU’s Surrey campus to announce $4.9 million in start-up funding for the medical school on Monday and to share some of the first details about the school, which is aiming to accept it first students by September 2026.  

SFU Surrey getting a new medical school to train doctors

Man allegedly assaulted several strangers before brandishing a weapon: VPD

Man allegedly assaulted several strangers before brandishing a weapon: VPD
Witnesses told police the man slapped a woman, assaulted a cyclist, then tried to attack someone who was walking amongst a group of people outside Nester’s Market. He also allegedly tried to start a fight near the Metropole Pub and brandished a weapon before being confronted by police.

Man allegedly assaulted several strangers before brandishing a weapon: VPD

Trudeau: Chinese protesters deserve free speech

Trudeau: Chinese protesters deserve free speech
Crowds in China angered by the anti-virus controls have called on leader Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of public dissent in decades. The regime has eased some of its strict controls after demonstrations in at least eight mainland cities as well as Hong Kong.  

Trudeau: Chinese protesters deserve free speech

Amanda Todd's harasser returned to the Netherlands

Amanda Todd's harasser returned to the Netherlands
Canada's Justice Department says Aydin Coban was taken back to his home country on Nov. 24, where he will continue serving a nearly 11-year sentence imposed by a Dutch court in 2017 for similar crimes involving more than 30 youth.

Amanda Todd's harasser returned to the Netherlands