Dhalla's Conspiracy

The recent case involving Brampton MP Ruby Dhalla's illegal hiring and abuse of migrant workers has shown that the Liberals still have not solved the issue of extreme arrogance within their ranks. To make long story short, Dhalla is being accused failing to pay the wages of three Filipina live-in caregivers she once employed. The accusers claim they were forced by Dhalla to work shifts up to 16 hours preforming duties beyond what they were required to do, such as cleaning the family's chiropractic offices. They claim that Dhalla withheld their passports and refuse to pay them. Of course none of these allegations have been proven in court. However, it's Dhalla's reaction to the allegations that has surprised many. The Brampton-Springdale MP is popular in her riding. For those who do not know the area, Brampton has a huge Punjabi population and as a Sikh woman, Dhalla has proven popular in her home riding. She is also a former Bollywood actress and model. According to the Ottawa Sun, at least one of her fellow MPs considered her to be manipulative. Other Liberals think vary highly of her.

The "nanny-gate" story has exposed her dark side for the world to see, a mind which seems to border on paranoia. She must have been talking to Garth Turner before speaking to the media about the story. She is now claiming the allegations are a Tory conspiracy against her, claiming the nannies are in cahoots with the Harper government to have her removed as an MP. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has said he finds the conspiracy allegations preposterous. Regardless, Dhalla has spoken with the integrity commissioner, which her lawyer is calling an unprecedented step. The nannies will testify under oath in front of an immigration committee. However, it seems like the Liberal party has already convicted them of perjury before any trial has begun. Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, who sits on the committee, promised that the hearing won't turn into a witch hunt; but it sounds to me as if it already has. Unfortunately for them, the Liberals are not winning the battle in the court of public opinion. Strong calls are coming out for her to resign. However, in a community who often puts the candidate's ethnicity over issues, it will be hard convincing Brampton's Sikh voters otherwise; especially given the star power Dhalla has. If anything, this whole tale shows that the Liberals have not learned a thing from the sponsorship scandal. The party is still as arrogant as ever and fails to own up to mistakes, or even to keep their mouths shut before the proverbial feces hits the fan. If the Liberals wants to ever be elected to lead, Igantiff would be wise to start purging the Dhallas of the party.