On September 28, the investigation into Liberal MP George Chahal was taken over by the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections (CCE), someone who is appointed directly by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.
Chahal’s victory is now being legally challenged by his opponent, who is asking a judge to throw out the results of the election in Calgary Skyview.
This development comes only days after Calgary Police confirmed to The Counter Signal that their anti-corruption unit is handling Liberal MP George Chahal’s investigation, with a warning that it “may at some point be transferred to a federal body.”
Police now say they are not investigating criminal wrongdoing but are working to support the CCE investigation.
Trudeau’s commissioner says that the investigation is now confidential and cannot be discussed with media.
George Chahal continues to say that he did nothing wrong.
Lawyers for Jag Sahota, the incumbent Conservative MP for Calgary Skyview, are now asking a Calgary judge to reverse the election results of her riding due to the dubious conditions of Chahal’s victory.
While handing the investigation to federal authorities sounds serious, it could likely result in Chahal getting off scot-free, given Trudeau’s ethically questionable administration and history of dodging the consequences of his many scandals.
Chahal is the only Liberal MP to be elected in Calgary and now the only MP in the city to be investigated by police and then CCE.
The Counter Signal previously reached out to the CCE to see if they were aware of the issue but they could not comment due to a strict confidentiality provision preventing them from commenting on individual cases or complaints.
“In keeping with the confidentiality provisions of the Act, the CCE generally does not confirm whether it has received a complaint or has initiated an investigation into a particular issue,” said a senior communications advisor for the Office.
“That said, I can tell you that the Act contains a prohibition on “impairing or preventing the transmission of election advertising” — which would include, but is not limited to, defacing or removing election signs or other advertisements.”
The investigation came after a video captured by homeowner Glenn Pennet shows Chahal approaching the house in northeast Calgary, checking the mailbox, seeing that a Conservative poster was taped to the voter’s door, allegedly removing said poster before replacing it with his material and walking away.
Pennett spoke with The Counter Signal on September 22 and confirmed that he was filing a police report, which he subsequently did.
“And that’s him,” Pennett said, referring to the video of Chahal. “And that’s the sheet from Jag. And then he’s putting this [Liberal flyer] under my [door].”
Pennett also says that the only reason he can think of that Chahal targeted his house was that he is not a Liberal supporter, having voted Conservative ever since he had the opportunity and supporting Jag Sahota in the last election.
The Counter Signal also spoke with many of Pennett’s neighbours who say that they never received Sahota’s campaign literature, despite proudly hosting her sign on their lawns.
Whether Chahal removed their campaign literature, too, is currently unknown but not unlikely.
Having been forced to respond due to the overwhelming evidence, Chahal’s campaign admitted that Chahal took the flyer and replaced it with his own but said that he did this because his opponent’s flyer contained misinformation.
“While dropping off polling info flyers prior to polls opening on Election Day, George removed a piece of campaign literature that identified an incorrect polling location for the person residing at the address,” wrote campaign manager Randall Zalazar.
“All through Election Day, campaign volunteers found incorrectly labelled materials across the eastern side of the riding. Our campaign contacted Elections Canada and advised them of the issue.”
However, the video tells a different story. Indeed, Chahal barely looks at his opponent’s campaign literature before replacing it with his own.
Sahota, who spoke with the Sun last week, said she is “shocked” and “disappointed” with the video.
“If you watch the video, he made no attempt to look at the pamphlet,” she said.
Moreover, during our interview, Pennett showed The Counter Signal the new election material, directing Pennett to vote at Saint Clare Elementary School — the wrong location given his address.
“And actually, that isn’t even a voting station,” continued Pennett. “People have emailed me and told me that it isn’t a voting station.”
“[Jag’s poster] just reminded me to go to vote, reminded me to vote, and where to vote, which is a Catholic school just around the corner from here,” explained Pennett.
“And this here — if you look at that — Coventry is 9.6 kilometres North of me. And, then, that’s not even a polling station.”
The Counter Signal investigated this issue and found that, indeed, Pennett’s polling station is at a different school just around the corner.
Moreover, Sahota recently provided her election material, which does, in fact, contain the correct polling information.
