Former Toronto police chief and current Liberal MP Bill Blair takes part in a news conference in Ottawa April 27, 2015.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
Liberal MP and former Toronto police chief Bill Blair was at the very least careless to participate in a 2015 fundraiser with a man who was under police investigation at the time, the Conservatives say. And if he did know, he shouldn't have taken the money, they say.
"It's reasonable to assume that the chief of the largest police force in Ontario should have been aware or ought to have been aware of what was happening with these individuals that held a fundraiser for him," Conservative MP John Brassard said in an interview on Monday, speaking for his party.
The Globe and Mail reported on Sunday that Mr. Blair's riding association has decided to reimburse nearly $4,000 in direct and in-kind contributions received at the event organized by businessman Francis Chantiam and which featured Andrew McKay, a lawyer and former police officer. The two are among five men arrested by the RCMP last week on charges of fraud and laundering the proceeds of crime.
The RCMP investigation sparked headlines in March, 2015 – three months before the fundraiser – with stories in Toronto media that quoted police documents filed in court that mentioned Mr. Chantiam and Mr. McKay as being involved in controversial dealings at the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA).
"The timelines are suspect to say the least, [Mr. Blair] should have known what was going on with these two individuals," Mr. Brassard said.
Mr. Blair was unavailable for an interview on Monday to respond to the Conservative Party's comments, his office said.
He announced in April, 2015, that he was seeking the Liberal nomination in the riding of Scarborough Southwest after 38 years as a police officer.
Asked by The Globe and Mail about the fundraising event last week, after the charges were announced, a spokesman said Mr. Blair did not know in June, 2015, that Mr. Chantiam and Mr. McKay were being targeted by the RCMP.
"Mr. Blair was unaware at the time of the fundraiser that there was an investigation into Mr. Chantiam or Mr. McKay. Upon learning of the news, Mr. Blair asked the riding association to return the donations and make a contribution to Variety Village to cover the in-kind donation," David Paradis, president of the Scarborough Southwest Liberal riding association, said last Friday.
The refunded amounts include $1,500 in donations from Mr. Chantiam and Mr. McKay, which are being given to the Receiver-General.
The $2,411.16 donation to Variety Village – a fitness and sports facility for people "of all abilities" – covers the value of the "in-kind" donations from Mr. Chantiam and his wife, who organized the fundraiser in the luxury box.
The three other people who were arrested last week – Karl Walsh, James Christie and Martin Bain – are police officers who were suspended by the Ontario Provincial Police in March, 2015, after public revelations they were under investigation.
The three were senior officials at the time in the union that represents OPP members. The RCMP is alleging they set up a sophisticated network of schemes involving secretly owned companies and offshore investments to defraud union members.
According to the RCMP, Mr. Chantiam of New Jersey and Mr. McKay acted "in concert" with the three former officials of the OPPA as part of the alleged scheme.