Iranian-Canadian Community Centre of Toronto

[Rasputin]

Sometimes money just falls into your lap.

That's what Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter found in the case of the Iranian-Canadian Community Centre of Toronto.

The group, founded in August 2005 and mistakenly listed as an animal welfare charity at one point, got a $200,000 grant from Ontario's ministry of citizenship and immigration last year to help build a community centre in the Richmond Hill area.

But the auditor found no written request for funding. In fact, since the group was operating for less than two years, it didn't qualify for a grant under other programs administered by the ministry.

"We had a number of groups where there wasn't any documentation of what they wanted the money for," McCarter noted.

As first reported by the Toronto Star last spring, the group had numerous Liberal connections.

One member of its executive had worked for Health Minister George Smitherman. Another, Reza Moridi, has since left the executive and become a Liberal candidate for the Oct. 10 provincial election.

Yet another quit to become a Liberal riding association president. And another is a long-time acquaintance of Finance Minister Greg Sorbara.

However, McCarter concluded the political connections were not a factor in the group getting the grant.

Still looking for land and money to build a community centre, the Iranians have put their $200,000 in the bank.

"It astounds me," said Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory, noting that families of children with autism are struggling to pay their treatment bills while taxpayers' money sits idle.

[Rasputin]

Ontario's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle has resigned after an auditor-general's report deemed the Liberals did not provide an accountable and transparent process for awarding millions in grants.

Colle tendered his resignation after Auditor-General Jim McCarter revealed in his report that Colle's office awarded grants to multicultural groups without an accountable application process.

"The decision behind who got what were often based on conversations and not applications," McCarter said during a press conference on Thursday.

Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters on Thursday that Colle's resignation was the "right thing to do'' and that he "wholeheartedly'' accepts the findings of the report.

He went on to apologize to Ontarians for not respecting their tax dollars and vowed the province would do a better job.

The Canadian Press is reporting Colle has been replaced by Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips who will be head of both ministries until the Oct. 10 election

Auditor's findings

McCarter stressed the need for due diligence in the grant application process and said time constraints for the Minister's Office of Citizenship and Immigration was not a sufficient excuse.

"More could have been done and quite frankly, more should have been done," McCarthy said.

Some organizations received funding well above what was requested, McCarter said. For instance, the Ontario Cricket Association requested $150,000 but got $1 million, he said.

The report also found that allegations into political ties between the groups and the Liberal party did exist, but these ties did not influence who received the grants.

McCarter's report investigated nearly $32 million in year-end grants that were hastily handed out to 110 community groups as the past two fiscal years came to and end.

McGuinty was given the report Thursday and kept his promise by promptly releasing it to the public shortly there after.

Opposition reacts

Opposition Leader John Tory slammed the Liberals saying grants were handed out "like Monopoly money."

Tory said McGuinty bears the ultimate responsibility for the lack of accountability and assured that the auditor's report would be an election issue.

"Very little illustrates Dalton McGuinty's lack of leadership as much as this," Tory said during a press conference.

"It took damning revelation after damning revelation before Dalton McGuinty, under duress, even allowed the auditor general to investigate this sorry mess. In short, they tried to do everything they could to hide this and to obscure this."

The opposition contended for weeks in the spring legislature that the money was awarded with no objective screening or application process.

[Rasputin]

Dr. Reza Moridi the Iranian Candidate from Liberal
Party
Dr. Reza Moridi has been nominated in Liberal Party for the Provincial Election in Richmond Hill. He will talk about his platform and importance of participation of Iranian community in Canadian Politics. His talk will be followed by Question and Answer.

We invite you all to volunteer for these speeches and share your knowledge and information with others.

Please note that these talks are just sharing the information and the presenter and Toronto-Iranian Group can not be held responsible for the contents.

[Rasputin]

ایرانیان مقیم کانادا می*روند تا اولین نماینده خود را به مجلس انتاریو بفرستند. رضا مریدی، در مرحله نخست از انتخابات داخلی حزب لیبرال انتاریو ، چندی پیش موفق شد تا با کسب حد نصاب لازم به عنوان نماینده این حزب از منطقه ریچموند هیل که یکی از مناطق پرجمعیت ایرانی تورنتو محسوب می*شود ، پیروزی را از آن خود سازد.
رضا مریدی روز ده اکتبر سال جاری در انتخابات عمومی پارلمان انتاریو شرکت خواهد کرد.

در این مرحله کاندیداهایی از احزاب مطرح سیاسی کانادا به رقابت با یکدیگر خواهند پرداخت .

وی که پیش از این در سمت معاونت یکی از مراکز تحقیقاتی کانادا کار کرده است، در حال حاضر همه موفقیت خود را مرهون حمایت جامعه ایرانیان کانادا می داند.

برنامه های آینده وی در حوزه مسایل آموزشی و اقتصادی ، خدمات بهداشتی ،توسعه خدمات برای سالمندن و امکانات بیشتر حمل و نقل شهری متمرکز خواهد بود. مریدی در صورت پیروزی در مرحله نهایی انتخابات انتاریو ، اولین نماینده ایرانی الاصل در یکی از مجالس کانادا خواهد بود. وی امیدوار است تا با پیروزی خود بتواند صدای ایرانیان را در پارلمان کانادایی طنین انداز باشد.

رضا مریدی فارغ التحصیل دانشگاه برونل انگلیس است و سابق بر این معاونت سازمان امنیت اشعه ای کانادارا عهده دار بوده است.