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Former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown signed off on a candidacy on the same day his girlfriend was given $5,000 by a donor supporting the candidate in question.
That’s one revelation from newly unsealed court documents that shed fresh light on a criminal investigation into the most contentious nomination race that took place under Mr. Brown’s leadership.
Mr. Brown was apparently under “pressure” from the Indian consulate to reject the candidate, Vikram Singh, an individual whose father had alleged ties to Sikh extremism, the documents say.
Gursharan (Bobby) Sidhu, a paralegal in Mississauga, was a campaign adviser for Mr. Singh, one of four candidates vying for the PC nomination in the riding of Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas on May, 7, 2017.
Mr. Sidhu told police that he met with Mr. Brown two days before the vote and that the leader, a friend at the time, asked for $5,000 for his girlfriend and $2,000 for an unidentified individual who had done campaign work for the party in Sault Ste. Marie, according to the documents.
“He asked me as a friendly favour. That’s all it was,” Mr. Sidhu told The Globe. "No political discussion took place during this exchange of favour.”
The court documents demonstrate the scope of Hamilton Police’s nearly two-year-long investigation, and reveal for the first time that police were investigating multiple people as suspects – from senior party officials, including then-president Rick Dykstra, to volunteers.
No one was charged and the allegations have not been tested in court. The investigation was closed after consultations with a Crown attorney.
A spokesman for Mr. Brown said “this situation was an unfortunate chapter for all involved,” adding: “It is unfortunate that false, exaggerated and out of context snippets from an old closed investigation are being presented in this manner.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Prince Edward Island heads to the polls today. Peter Bevan-Baker has his sights set on running Canada’s first Green government.
Jason Kenney has recruited political aides with backgrounds in Ottawa and British Columbia, a week before the United Conservative Party leader is to be sworn in as Alberta’s next premier.
Health officials in rural parts of Ontario are bracing to learn how provincial funding cuts to public-health units will affect the services they can offer.
Two organizations responsible for connecting libraries across Northern and Southern Ontario are grappling with how to adjust services in the face of significant funding reductions.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan marked Earth Day by reaffirming his government’s commitment to rise to the challenge of climate change.
Federal Green party Leader Elizabeth May married John Kidder, a retired technology entrepreneur and long-time Green party member, in a ceremony attended by about 500 guests.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be portrayed in Sunday’s Canadian-themed episode of The Simpsons, which is titled “D’Oh Canada.”
Sri Lanka’s President gave the military sweeping police powers starting Tuesday in the wake of the Easter bombings that killed nearly 300 people. The bombings were retaliation for recent deadly attacks on mosques in New Zealand, a Sri Lankan official said, adding that two domestic Islamist groups were believed to have been behind Sunday’s blasts.
What does Steve Bannon want with an Italian monastery? The Globe’s Eric Reguly goes inside the former Trump aide’s fledgling school for populism.
U.S. President Donald Trump filed suit to keep U.S. lawmakers from obtaining his financial records, the first salvo in what promises to be an escalating legal battle with Democrats in Congress.
U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler subpoenaed former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify before the panel in its investigation of possible obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump.
U.S. Representative Seth Moulton entered the 2020 Democratic presidential race as a long-shot contender in a contest that now includes almost 20 candidates.
The United States demanded a cutoff of Iranian oil exports to major importers such as China and India, which had been granted exemptions from sanctions, sending crude prices to six-month highs.
British Prime Minister Theresa May faced renewed pressure Tuesday from her restive Conservative Party to resign as lawmakers returned to Parliament – and to Brexit wrangling – after an 11-day Easter break.
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on the NDP heading into October’s election: “A credible guesstimate of what might happen in six months: The Liberals will lose seats to the Tories in Atlantic Canada and the Prairies. They will gain seats at the NDP’s expense in Quebec. Whoever does the best in suburban Ontario and British Columbia will end up with the most seats, though not enough for a majority government. In that situation, many progressives would expect the NDP to support the Liberals so as to keep the Conservatives out of power. But that’s not how the game is played.”
John Doyle (The Globe and Mail) on television and the Ukraine election: “Zelensky’s victory is a testament to the strength of television’s role in framing ideas, analysis and debate about political and social issues. After all, one reason Donald Trump is in the White House is the image of him as a tough, forthright business tycoon that The Apprentice created and then solidified, TV season after TV season. Television normalizes the narrative of disruption. It forges a storyline that makes the implausible seem plausible and it introduces outrageous outsiders into the mainstream.”
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on the Ukraine election: “Mr. Zelensky is not as cynical a candidate as U.S. President Donald Trump. But for Ukrainian voters, backing him has been an act of cynicism about the established order.”
Preston Manning (The Globe and Mail) on the Alberta election: “The interpretation by distant national commentators of the reasons behind, and the significance of, this decision by Albertans varies considerably from the interpretation of those of us whose lives and political experiences are rooted in Alberta.”
Colin Robertson (The Globe and Mail) on Canada-China relations: “Turning the other cheek and hoping for a change of heart won’t work. Our hostages and canola farmers need help. Mr. Trudeau, it’s time to fight back.”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on Ontario’s health care cuts: “Governments, regardless of their political stripes, like spending on what’s visible and lends itself well to ribbon-cutting and credit-taking. Our four-year political cycle encourages and rewards short-sightedness. When you invest in public health, the benefits lie in the future; they go largely unnoticed, even by those who benefit.”
Andrew Coyne (National Post) on the Mueller Report: “The chances that Trump might actually be removed from office are remote, so long as the Republicans control the Senate. But Congressional hearings, whether or not they lead to impeachment, would be a worthwhile exercise in themselves.”
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