Directors of a charity that reached an agreement with the Canadian government to bring Afghan Sikhs into Canada made political donations to former defence minister Harjit Sajjan’s riding association around the same time as Canadian special forces soldiers were trying to evacuate them. The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday Elections Canada records reveal these directors gave thousands of dollars in donations to the Vancouver South Liberal Electoral District Association in 2021. At the time, Canada was having an election campaign, and Sajjan was seeking re-election in Vancouver South. These records generate increased speculation about the affiliation between Sajjan and the charity aiming to bring a group of 225 Afghan Sikhs on final evacuation flights from Kabul as the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan.Sajjan confirmed on Thursday he had asked Canadian special forces rescue about 225 Afghan Sikhs after the Taliban came to power in 2021 — a move three sources said to the Globe and Mail led to resources being diverted from assisting Canadian citizens and Afghans connected to Canada. READ MORE: Sajjan requested special forces save Afghan Sikhs amid fall of KabulHe brought forward the location and other details about the Afghan Sikhs to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as special forces headed to meet up with them. This information was provided to him from a Canadian Sikh group that had spoken with them. In Kabul, the sources said the situation was crazy, as evacuation flights were wrapping up and Canada and other Western countries scrambled to bring their citizens out of Afghanistan.Elections Canada said Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation (MSBF) Director Tarjinder Bhullar gave a $510 donation to the Vancouver South Liberal EDA. Tarjinder’s donation was noted on Aug. 19, 2021. It pointed out MSBF Directors Baljinder and Apharnarayan Bhullar made a $1,000 donation each to the EDA. Baljinder’s and Apharnarayan’s donations were received on Aug. 22, 2021. While these donations were sizeable, another one valued at $1,650 from MSBF Director Namrita Rattan was documented on Aug. 27, 2021. Rattan was the wife of former Alberta cabinet minister Manmeet Bhullar. A few days later, Canada ended its evacuations in Afghanistan, failing to rescue the Sikhs after they became worried and left the area they were supposed to wait to obtain assistance. However, they were able to go to India. The sources said the Afghan Sikhs were not treated as a priority for the CAF, as they were unconnected to Canada. Because Sajjan intervened, they said he impacted the rescue of Canadians and other Afghans on the CAF’s priority list. He denied his comments about the Afghan Sikhs were orders and said he did not want them to be a top priority. He said Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had granted them permission to come to the country. “I provided direction to the Canadian Armed Forces, through the appropriate chain of command, to assist the group of Afghan Sikhs who had been determined eligible for evacuation from Kabul through the process under way at IRCC,” he said to the Globe and Mail. While Sajjan has denied being demanding, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said the CAF was following orders from him when it attempted to assist them. Elections Canada’s records go back 10 years to 2014, but there is no record of Tarjinder, Apharnarayan, or Rattan making any other donations. Meanwhile, Baljinder made a $400 donation in 2019 to Conservative deputy leader Tim Uppal.
