Former Liberal MP Raj Grewal seeks dismissal of charges due to lack of evidence
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.
But speaking before a judge Monday, defence lawyer Nader Hasan argued that the prosecution "wants you to ignore a whole range of facts and evidence that have emerged during the course of these proceedings."
Grewal appeared in court via videoconference as Hasan put forward his motion for a directed verdict and an acquittal on all charges.
In written arguments filed in Ontario Superior Court, the defence says Grewal's conduct falls squarely within the non-criminal category, and the prosecution's case doesn't hold water.
Hasan says in the document 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.
Crown prosecutor Tim Wightman suggested in court on Monday that that doesn't negate the idea that Grewal offered them invitations because they gave him money.
"He can't erase the fact that he is indebted to them at the time," he said.
The prosecution has 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 noted that MPs' offices regularly provide such letters 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 is "completely implausible," he said Monday.
He went on to suggest that if such letters -- and even invitations to meet-and-greets -- are standard activities for an MP's office, it would have been more problematic if Grewal had refused to offer such things.
"These people weren't singled out for special treatment. They got the treatment everyone was getting," he said in court on Monday, adding that if Wightman had nailed down that any of the lenders gave a loan in exchange for immigration services, "we would be hearing endlessly about it."
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.
But Wightman argued in court that the breach of trust offence is designed to capture a wide variety of inappropriate activities, which cover, in this case, an MP soliciting money from an individual knowing that his office will be providing them some kind of support.
"It is a broadly worded offence, and the Supreme Court has articulated why it is so. And that is because it is designed to cover conduct that, as the court says, defies precise definition," he said.
Wightman boiled down the Crown's case to this: "A public official should not benefit from the provision of services that are made as part of his duties. Nor should a public official use his office or his duties to provide benefits to someone he's indebted to."
Grewal resigned as a member of the Liberal caucus in 2018 after his gambling problem came to public attention, and he did not run in the 2019 federal 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, a decision that will not be rendered until late February or early March at the earliest, the trial could continue into the spring.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Local Spotlight
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.