Raj Grewal leaves the finance committee "absolutely not" related to the game, police investigation: the federal government – National

The decision to remove Liberal MP Raj Grewal, who is now confused, out of the House of Commons finance committee two months before the announcement of his resignation due to "gambling problems" was apparently unrelated to the ongoing reports of a police investigation.

Grewal announced his intention to resign on November 22 for "personal and medical reasons," which the PMO subsequently confirmed, citing "gambling problems." However, he remains the member for Brampton East because he has not yet followed the rules to resign officially.

READ MORE: Raj Grewal, Liberal in Power, Remains MP for Brampton East Despite Announcement of Resignation

But reports from the past two days have raised questions about why Grewal was removed from the Finance Committee two months before his announcement on September 19.

In his work on this committee, he interviewed senior RCMP law enforcement officials about how they are tracking money laundering and financial crimes, which has led to Conservative and NDP members wondered whether his removal from this committee was linked to recent reports that the same force would have probed his own gambling activity.

"I can confirm that his movement has nothing to do with the issues before us," said Mark Holland, the government bad, responsible for committee composition and Grewal's departure from the finance committee to the committee. health committee.

"Absolutely not."

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Holland said the decision to transfer Grewal from finance to the health committee was a matter of "routine" changes.

But he would not say if the decision was made by or for Grewal.

"It's an internal conversation," said Holland.

READ MORE: Former Liberal MP Raj Grewal resigned for "gambling problem": PMO

In a Globe and Mail article on Monday, the RCMP was investigating Grewal's millions of dollars in gambling, which resulted in the requirement to report to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center. (FINTRAC), who then forwarded the case to the federal forces.

Minutes of the House of Commons Finance Committee meetings show that Grewal poses detailed questions to the RCMP representatives who appeared before her on the types of activities that would trigger a FINTRAC investigation and about to to know if the forces of the order had the necessary resources to examine the cases as well as those implying cryptocurrencies.

NDP MP Peter Julian, one of the vice-chairmen of this committee, told Global News, prior to Holland's comments, that he thought the Liberals should be aware of Grewal's gambling problem. when they let him go.

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"Clearly, the Liberals have known this for months," he said. "They would not have moved without knowing it."

Global News also contacted Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who is also vice-chair of this committee, but received no response.

However, Conservative Party House Leader Lisa Raitt on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Grewal's removal from the committee.

"This member was dismissed from the committee on September 19th. When did the Prime Minister know that he was under the surveillance of the RCMP? "She asked.

WATCH BELOW: New Democrats hail Raj Grewal's resignation for "gambling problem"

Trudeau responded that the government "had learned of the member's difficulties last week when he told us about his gambling addiction."

This occurred after Trudeau refused to answer questions earlier in the day about Grewal's departure from the committee.

In a statement released last week, his office said: "We are aware of RCMP investigations into the circumstances that were the subject of a complaint to the Commissioner of Professional Ethics regarding Mr. Grewal earlier this year. "

The Office of the Commissioner of Ethics is investigating Grewal's decision to bring Yusuf Yenilmez, general manager of a construction company in his riding, to an event dedicated to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to India.

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Until now, it's unclear when Grewal plans to resign even after telling voters that he would do it.

Global News interviewed Grewal about this but did not receive a response.

There is no indication that any action has been taken to prevent Grewal from receiving his salary of approximately $ 170,000 or related benefits.

WATCH BELOW: Lisa Raitt asks Liberal MP Raj Grewal for answers

Global News also asked the Prime Minister's office whether a government member had contacted Grewal to ask him to follow proper procedures in case of resignation or how long taxpayers could expect to continue paying his salary.

No response has been received.