CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian Liberal Party MP who last year was caught red-handed swiping his conservative opponent’s flyers from someone’s porch during the fall election campaign was fined just $500 for his misdeed.
Liberal MP George Chahal for Calgary Skyview said Tuesday that he “accepted and paid a $500 administrative penalty, as assessed by Elections Canada, for removing a flyer from a front door on September 19, 2021.”
“I want to again apologize and acknowledge my mistake,” tweeted Chahal, adding, “As the elected Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, I am committed to putting the interests of my constituents first, through all my activities and interactions.”
Despite Chahal paying the fine, he is still under a Calgary Police Service investigation through its anti-corruption unit for his flyer-swiping incident.
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.
The elections commissioner has confirmed that Chahal is the first and only MP in the current parliament who has been censured for breach of the Elections Act, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Many said Chahal’s small fine shows just how far-gone Canada’s government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is.
“A $500 fine is a joke. What it speaks to is character, or lack of it. He’ll do fine, given the current Government of Canada,” tweeted Sun columnist Lorrie Goldstein.
Canadian journalist Keean Bexte from the Counter Signal tweeted Tuesday, “I want taxpayers to buy George Chahal an alarm — but the kind that straps right on to his ankle.”
Video of the flyer-swapping incident clearly shows Chahal’s face as visible. 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.
The porch event involving Chahal was made public in September after Facebook user Glenn Pennett posted a doorbell camera video showing the incident, which is said to have taken place on September 19.
The video appears to show Chahal leaving his own flyer on Pennett’s step after taking away Sahota’s.
Last year, Kyle Shewchuk, a lawyer for Sahota, said they will file a Court of Queen’s Bench application to ask that results from Calgary Skyview be invalidated.
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.