Charges declined in election case involving New West School Board Trustee Gurveen Dhaliwal

VANCOUVER, BC: A Special Prosecutor has declined to approve a charge against Gurveen Dhaliwal, a New Westminster School Board Trustee.
Dhaliwal was being investigated for possibly breaking election rules by being present at a voting place as a scrutineer, which the Local Government Act prohibits, as candidates are only allowed at polling stations to vote on election day.
The allegation is that, after casting her ballot, Ms. Dhaliwal remained at the voting place for approximately 20 minutes acting as a scrutineer for another candidate from the same electoral organization. A scrutineer is appointed to represent a candidate at a voting place according to the terms of the LGA. The scrutineer observes the conduct of the voting and counting proceedings at the voting station to ensure it is operating fairly.
John M. Gordon KC was appointed as the Special Prosecutor in relation to the investigation of Dhaliwal’s case.
According to a media statement by BC Prosecution Service (BCPS), the Special Prosecutor concluded that the public interest does not require a prosecution in this case. The Special Prosecutor identified a number of public interest factors set out in the charge assessment policy that weighed against a prosecution. These included that the offence was committed as a result of a genuine mistake or misunderstanding of fact. The loss or harm was the result of a single incident and was minor in nature. “Ms. Dhaliwal did not serve as a scrutineer at the community centre for long. CCTV from the community centre showed Ms. Dhaliwal arriving at 12:19 p.m. and departing at 12:39 p.m. Nothing remarkable occurred while Ms. Dhaliwal was present as a scrutineer. It was estimated that a small number of voters, perhaps a half-dozen, used the ballot box at which Ms. Dhaliwal was scrutineering over this period of time,” mentioned the media statement.
In all the circumstances the Special Prosecutor concluded that the public interest did not require the prosecution of Ms. Dhaliwal for an offence under the LGA and accordingly no charge was approved.
Joven Narwal of Narwal Litigation LLP, issued a statement on behalg of Dhaliwal. Narwal said, “We are pleased to announce that the independent Special Prosecutor has decided not to approve criminal charges against our client, Gurveen Dhaliwal, following a comprehensive investigation in which our client fully cooperated. The independent nature of the charge assessment serves as a testament to the integrity of our legal system which strives to ensure fairness and impartiality. We would like to extend our client’s appreciation for unwavering support and encouragement from friends, family and members of the community who maintained their belief in her integrity.
Vindicated by this decision, our client looks forward to continuing to serve New Westminster as well as the province of British Columbia and will not be granting any interviews or providing additional statements at this time.”