OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Illegal ballots were cast by various people, including an aide to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, for a Liberal candidate who became an MP in the 2021 Canadian federal election, the country’s elections commissioner confirmed.
As noted by Blacklock’s Reporter, Commissioner of Canada Elections Caroline Simard confirmed that there were voting irregularities in the riding of Calgary Skyview, which was won in a close race by Liberal MP George Chahal over his Conservative rival.
The Commissioner wrote in a Notice of Violation that “the failure of those involved in the political process to comply with the rules adopted by Parliament to ensure a fair election can contribute to a loss of public confidence in the integrity of members of the political class which may as a result increase voter apathy.”
One of the individuals cited as illegally having voted for Chahal was Ayesha Chughtai, who served as a Liberal campaign organizer and then later an adviser to Trudeau. She was insistent on voting for Chahal in an advance poll, even though she did not live in the riding. This is not allowed per election rules, and she was warned that she had breached the Canada Elections Act.
Chughtai, who has since left her role with Trudeau’s office, had said that she was determined to “support the Liberal Party candidate running in that electoral district,” the Commissioner noted.
She was fined $1,500.
Another illegal voter, Shehnaz Chaughtai, was fined $1,250 for trying to vote in Chahal’s riding.
As for Chahal, he has not commented on the matter.
No other individuals were named by the elections commissioner.
Chahal’s election campaign was fraught with scandal after he was caught swiping his conservative opponent’s flyers from someone’s porch during the fall election campaign. Last year, he was fined just $500 for his misdeed.
Chahal was first put under investigation by the Commissioner of Elections Canada after a video showed him swapping out flyers from his main competitor, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Jag Sahota, with his own at a person’s house just before Canada’s September 20 federal election.
Video of the flyer-swapping incident clearly shows Chahal’s face. It appears he made no effort to disguise his actions as he was wearing a sweater with his name on the back with the number 21 and “Vote George” text on the front.
He won the riding by 2,981 votes over Sahota.
Since becoming Prime Minister in 2015, Trudeau and his Liberal party have been caught in scandal after scandal, such as the WE Charity corruption scandal, the SNC-Lavalin affair, and the sacking of high profile female MPs.
Most recently, disclosed records show Canada’s Department of Finance hired a senior adviser for a top role who is a friend of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.