More on Grewal
Grewal takes 'stress leave' amid new controversy
Air Canada probes MP's actions in airport incident
FROM CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - The Tory MP at the centre of a surreptitiously taped effort to make a deal with the Liberals is taking a stress leave from his parliamentary duties after Air Canada launched an investigation of incident at Vancouver airport.
Gurmant Grewal was allegedly spotted in a waiting area Saturday asking passengers to carry a package to Ottawa for him, said an airline source.
The B.C. MP denied any wrongdoing.
"I'm going to deny the allegations with Air Canada and they have, unfortunately, wrong information in their hands," he told Global News today.
A union official said Grewal had earlier gone to an Air Canada ticket agent to ask if he could arrange for someone to carry a package to Ottawa aboard flight 166 on Saturday. He was told that was impossible because of security practices.
"The agent told him he couldn't do that. If he had a package to go on the flight he would need to go on the flight."
The official said Grewal then re-booked himself on the Ottawa flight and passed through security to a waiting area, where he asked other agents if they could give him a list of politicians travelling on the Ottawa flight. He allegedly said he wanted one of them to carry a package for him.
He was reportedly again told that this was a violation of security.
He was then allegedly overheard asking "a number" of passengers to carry the package, the official said.
The MP apparently was successful in finding someone to take his envelope to Ottawa and went back to tell the agents in the lounge, the official said. He himself flew to Ottawa the next day.
Grewal has been at the centre of a storm since releasing secretly taped conversations with senior Liberals attempting to win his vote and that of his wife, also a Tory MP, on the eve of the May 19 confidence vote. The Liberals survived when the Speaker broke a tie.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper issued a statement this evening saying Grewal informed him earlier in the day that he would temporarily step down from his position as co-chair of a standing joint committee in the House of Commons.
"Subsequently, I have spoken with Gurmant," Harper's statement said. "I have been aware that for some days now he has been feeling significant personal pressure. As a result, he and I agreed that he should take a temporary stress leave from his parliamentary responsibilities."
It's unclear why Grewal didn't fly with the package or simply courier it. He did not respond to a request for an interview today.
A source said Grewal had an envelope containing tapes with him at the airport, but airline officials would not confirm if there was a tape in the envelope the MP was reportedly trying to pass along.
The airline was saying little about the incident.
"We can confirm that we are currently investigating an incident involving Mr. Grewal," said Air Canada spokeswoman Laura Cooke.
"I have no additional information to provide on this matter at this point."
Last week, Grewal turned over to the RCMP tapes of secret recordings he made in meetings with two top Liberals.
Several audio experts said the tapes had been altered, prompting the Conservatives to issue a statement admitting that small changes had been made to the recordings.
On the tapes, Grewal is overheard negotiating possible job opportunities with the Liberal party in exchange for his vote in a crucial confidence vote.
