Brampton MPP faces questions over taxpayer-funded ads in father’s newspaper

A Progressive Conservative MPP is being accused of using public funds to “further the private interests” of his own family, Global News has learned, just days after the revelation that he billed taxpayers thousands to stay in downtown Toronto hotel rooms.

On Monday, the Ontario NDP asked the integrity commissioner to probe Brampton East MPP Hardeep Grewal, claiming he was using his publicly funded constituency budget to advertise in a newspaper run by his father.

Grewal — who was already under scrutiny for expensing $27,000 on Toronto hotels over the past three years despite living in Brampton — appears to have regularly advertised constituency events in the Punjabi Post, which is run by his father, Jagdish Singh Grewal.

“MPP Grewal just got caught with his hands in the taxpayers’ pockets, spending nearly $30,000 on luxury downtown Toronto hotel stays, and now, potentially breaking ethics rules to enrich an immediate family member with tax dollars,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said.

Stiles filed her complaint with the integrity commissioner on Monday morning, alleging the advertisements were a conflict of interest because Grewal’s father stood to benefit financially from them.

Grewal said in a statement he would seek guidance from the integrity commissioner.

“The Punjabi Post is a popular ethnic news outlet in Brampton-a community with a large Punjabi speaking population. Political parties of all stripes have advertised with the Punjabi Post,” he wrote.

“Prior to advertising, I should have consulted with the Integrity Commissioner and have since reached out to her office for advice.”

According to federal filings submitted as part of the NDP complaint, Jagdish Singh Grewal is the director of the Punjabi Post.

The newspaper was founded in 2002 as a daily Punjabi news outlet, with 35,000 readers, according to a media kit posted on its website. The same media kit lists Jagdish Singh Grewal as the point of contact for “advertising, insertion orders, sales or contracts.”

Past issues of the newspaper included in the NDP complaint show advertising for Grewal’s events, like a summer BBQ,  emblazoned across the front of the newspaper.

The advertisements are non-partisan, meaning they promote Grewal as a local MPP rather than the Progressive Conservative Party, something the NDP argues means they were approved by his office.

“A review of the Member’s expenses has led me to believe that the Member may have violated the Member’s Integrity Act, 1994, and I am requesting that you offer an opinion on the matter,” Stiles wrote in her letter to the integrity commissioner.

“We believe the member may have used public money from his Legislature budget to purchase services from a business solely owned by an immediate family member.”

Examples sent to the integrity commissioner by the NDP include a Canada Day spread that ran for three days and other seasonal greetings.

“We’ve called on the Integrity Commissioner to look into MPP Grewal’s spending habits because there is a clear pattern of ads placed in a local paper owned by his father,” Stiles added.

“If MPP Grewal’s family members are benefiting from tax dollars, the people deserve to know.”

Separately, Grewal has faced a week of questions after he claimed more than $27,000 to stay in Toronto hotels, despite his constituency office being 43 kilometres from Queen’s Park.

Premier Doug Ford lambasted the spending from some of his MPPs and pledged they would repay what they had claimed, without offering any details.

“It’s unacceptable, it’s not how we operate. We have to be prudent fiscal managers,” Ford said on Friday. “It’s just unacceptable, and they’re paying back every single penny of it.”

It’s not clear, however, if any of the other MPPs have paid the money back.

The premier’s office has not responded to questions from Global News asking who else has paid back the expenses.

Stan Cho — who spent $16,000 on hotels despite living 6 kilometres from Queen’s Park — has already resigned amid a growing spending scandal for the Ford government.

The Willowdale MPP said the money he had claimed was within the rules, but admitted it had been a “mistake” to make the taxpayer cover the costs of his hotels.

Stiles said the issues were coming from the top.

“Doug Ford sets the tone for his caucus,” she said.

“Clearly, MPPs who have spent tens of thousands of tax dollars to fund their lavish lifestyle continue to have his confidence, but what else can you expect from a Premier who tried to buy himself a private jet on the people’s dime?”

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