OTTAWA – Parm Gill should be fired as a Conservative candidate after Jason Kenney repeatedly claimed – falsely – that Mr. Gill was not part of a taxpayer-funded official Government of Canada delegation to India in 2009 or that he was he given any privileged access to private government meetings:
“Mr. Speaker, all complete utter rubbish. The individual in question was not part of an official Government of Canada delegation, period.” (Jason Kenney, Hansard, March 22, 2011)
“I’ve been to India twice. …Oh, yeah, Mr. Gill came as did other Canadians of different backgrounds and attended some public events.” (Jason Kenney, CBC’s “The National,” April 27, 2011)
However, photos from Mr. Gill’s website confirm that Mr. Kenney has officially been misleading Canadians about Mr. Gill’s involvement in the India trip.
The photos on Mr. Gill’s website feature him and Mr. Kenney taking part in a private meeting with Parkash Singh Badal, the Chief Minister of Punjab, head of the provincial government – akin to a premier in Canada.
If Mr. Gill wasn’t part of an ‘official’ Government of Canada delegation, what was he doing in the meeting?
Media have also interviewed people who spoke of Mr. Gill’s influence in granting visas:
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: “I was told when I was trying for my mom’s visa that he could… if there’s anybody who can get things done, it’s Parm Gill.”
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2 (CONCERT PROMOTER): “So I could put through the visas and the whole credit goes to Mr. Parm Gill.” (CBC’s “The National,” April 27, 2011)
Before Canadians vote on May 2nd, Mr. Gill should be fired as a candidate and Mr. Kenney must come clean about this abuse of government resources. They have been misleading Canadians about special access given to Canada’s immigration system to a private citizen who is a Conservative candidate.
