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Sgt. Zahir Shah said police had been acting on a call from the “member of the public” when authorities stopped Mr. Grewal, who Mr. Kania said had no official role with the campaign or local riding association.

“We’ve had complaints in past elections about signs being damaged or stolen, but this is the first gentleman in this election that’s been charged, at least that I’m aware of,” Sgt. Shah said.

Mr. Grewal was charged with possessing stolen property and will appear in a Brampton court on May 11 — one week after the federal election, which promises to be a tight race in the Ontario riding, where just 231 votes separated Mr. Kania and Mr. Seeback in the 2008 election.

“This is a serious matter,” Mr. Kania said. “We expect volunteers to follow the law, period.”

Conservative leader Stephen Harper has visited Brampton three times so far in this campaign, and has been actively courting the vulnerable Liberal riding in an effort to usurp the seat. The riding is relatively new on the federal scene, having been carved out in 2003, and is also host to NDP candidate Jagtar Shergill and the Green Party’s Avtaar Soor.

Today, more than half the riding’s residents are visible minorities — including a sizable South Asian community, which the Tories are wooing as part of their controversial strategy aimed at wresting ethnic votes from the Liberals.

The riding made headlines earlier this month after it was reported that Snover Dhillon, a Toronto businessman facing fraud charges, was helping out with Mr. Seeback’s campaign.

A telephone message left for Mr. Seeback was not immediately returned on Tuesday.



National Post





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