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Kahlon said he’s been active in the South of Fraser area and South Asian community and “we’ve never heard of this proposal before.”

According to corporate records, New Horizons Village Society was incorporated on March 1. A day later, it changed its name to Horizons Village Society. It has three listed directors: Badesha, Johal and Jagmohan Singh.

Photo by Handout/Port of Metro Vancouver website / PNG

It is not listed as a registered charity with the federal government.

Singh ran unsuccessfully for the B.C. Liberals in 2009 in the riding of Surrey-Fleetwood. Badesha said he is a member of the B.C. Liberals.

On March 17, the Treasury Board sent a letter to former Minister of Community, Sport & Cultural Development Peter Fassbender stating $8.13 million in one-time grants would be awarded to 317 organizations, including $200,000 for a “feasibility analysis to build a community centre for the Fraser Valley and Surrey.” It was the fifth-largest grant issued and the money was to come from Fassbender’s ministry.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

The letter noted that “these approvals are subject to your ministry staff ensuring that due diligence is undertaken to confirm that the recipients are bona fide organizations and that there is a report back to the ministry on outcomes achieved by each organization.”

The approval came less than a month before the provincial election.

“I have never seen a grant issued in the time frame that this one was issued,” Kahlon said, adding that he also wants to know why the grant was never publicly announced.