But Johal And Singh Say They Won’t Return The Cash And Vow To Proceed With Using Money For Their Project!
NDP sent out a press release on Monday that emphasized that the grant is questionable and will be closely looked at. Ravi Kahlon, NDP MLA for Delta North, said the more he has looked into the grant, the more extraordinary it looks, and the more serious questions are raised. “There are some very questionable things when it comes to this B.C. Liberal government grant to their friends,” said Kahlon. “The grant came from a contingency fund just a month before the 2017 election to known B.C. Liberal insiders. They registered an organization on March 1, and by March 17, just 16 days later, they received a $200,000 grant from the B.C. Liberal government. I’ve never heard of a case where an organization gets a massive government grant 16 days after existence.”
By R. Paul Dhillon
VICTORIA – There has been a lot of interest in the story of two Indo-Canadian BC Liberal insiders who got a pre-election grant of $200,000 from their favourite Premier Christy Clark’s regime just 16 days after they formed the company to do feasibility study for a seniors community centre or a seniors village.
The John Horgan NDP Government is going hard after BC Liberals Satnam Johal and Jagmohan Singh over them getting a last minute $200,000 pre-election grant courtesy of their friends Clark and former MLA and Minister Peter Fassbender.
NDP sent out a press release on Monday that emphasized that the grant is questionable and will be closely looked at.
The press release stated: “While the B.C. Liberal government claimed before the election they had no money to help the province’s most vulnerable people, they magically found $200,000 to give to two B.C. Liberal insiders for an organization they registered only a few days earlier.”
However the LINK has learned that Johal and Singh are not going to give the Grant money of $200K back after there had been speculation in the media and community that the two were making a big announcement Friday to return the money
But the NDP junior minister Ravi Kahlon said that he won’t close the file until the two return the money.
This is like a PUNJABI HIGH NOON – Guns drawn but no Ammo!
Kahlon, NDP MLA for Delta North, said the more he has looked into the grant, the more extraordinary it looks, and the more serious questions are raised.
“There are some very questionable things when it comes to this B.C. Liberal government grant to their friends,” said Kahlon. “The grant came from a contingency fund just a month before the 2017 election to known B.C. Liberal insiders. They registered an organization on March 1, and by March 17, just 16 days later, they received a $200,000 grant from the B.C. Liberal government.
“I’ve never heard of a case where an organization gets a massive government grant 16 days after existence.”
Kahlon added, “I’ve also never heard of an instance where the B.C. Liberal government gave out a $200,000 grant just before an election and didn’t hold an event to draw attention to it. I haven’t even been able to find a press release. That alone is extraordinary.”
Jagmohan Singh told the LINK Friday that they welcome the NDP’s review of the grant and look forward to working with the new government on their proposed project.
“We are happy to have Minister Harry Bains on the society’ board or even Ravi Kahlon as we feel that people are talking more about the grant rather than the project,” Singh told the LINK. “This is a rare occasion that the government has given money for our community project and we should rally behind it. In fact, the government money will help us raise more private money for the project.”
The LINK was the first one to report on the ongoing rifts that developed between Satnam Johal and the B.C. Liberal leadership as the election approached as Johal was denied a chance to run for nomination in at least one constituency.
Johal and his close colleague Singh formed New Horizons Village Society on March 1, 2017. The Treasury Board approved a $200,000 grant for them 16 days later, to be funded from contingencies.
“So far, I haven’t been able to find much in the way of a business case or paper trail leading up to the grant,” said Kahlon. “I’ve seen a letter to Rich Coleman just before they formed the society, officially requesting the money. Mr. Coleman must have advanced the request at that point, despite the organization not even officially existing yet.”
Kahlon noted that even today (Monday), the website for the organization only has a phone number on it and “Site and Development Coming Soon” placeholder text.
“It’s like an empty shell of an organization. This grant doesn’t pass the smell test, and I plan to look into it more,” said Kahlon.
