TORONTO — Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner will investigate Progressive Conservative MPP Hardeep Grewal over taxpayer-funded advertisements placed in a newspaper owned by his father, opposition members said Thursday.The investigation follows a complaint filed in July by NDP Leader Marit Stiles. The complaint alleges Grewal, who represents Brampton East, used his constituency budget to run ads in the Punjabi Post, a Brampton-based paper owned by his father, Jagdish Singh Grewal. Stiles has described the placements as a clear pattern that may have advanced the private interests of an immediate family member.Grewal has previously acknowledged he should have consulted the Integrity Commissioner before placing the ads and said he has since sought advice. He has described the Punjabi Post as a popular ethnic outlet in Brampton that other parties have also used..Brampton East MPP faces Integrity Commissioner complaint over ads in father’s newspaper.The same MPP has faced scrutiny for hotel expenses. Opposition members noted Thursday that he spent roughly $30,000 on luxury Toronto hotel rooms even though he lives in Brampton. Earlier reporting put the figure at more than $27,000 over recent years. The spending occurred under rules that allowed certain GTA MPPs to claim Toronto hotels, rules the government has since said it will tighten.Opposition members said the Integrity Commissioner confirmed this week that she will pursue the July complaint. They added that the commissioner has asked them not to share further details while the investigation proceeds. Grewal is the MPP for Brampton East and has served as a parliamentary assistant. The Members’ Integrity Act prohibits MPPs from using their office to further their own private interests or those of family members. The Integrity Commissioner’s office has not publicly commented on the specific file.
