The Ontario Liberal Party is calling on the Ontario Provincial Police to investigate the formation of 15 companies or associations linked to a Conservative progressive MP seeking re-election on June 2.
Documents consulted by CBC News, which the Liberals said were sent directly to OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, show that Vincent Ke’s staff and family members formed a number of corporations after he was elected as MPP for the Toronto constituency of Don Valley North in 2018.
However, PC leader Doug Ford said on Wednesday morning that the Liberals’ information was inaccurate. PC Party officials say no investigation is warranted because there is nothing wrong with setting up any of the corporations, many of which are non-profit cultural associations.
The Liberal Party does not report any wrongdoing, but urges police to investigate.
In a letter to police, Ontario Liberal Party Executive Director Ian Hall wonders why Ke’s staff would be involved in so many “shell corporations” after his election to the legislature.
“Once the matter is being investigated, we are concerned that such actions could constitute a possible breach of trust,” Hall wrote in the letter, which was dated Tuesday.
“I think these are serious public trust issues that warrant a thorough investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police.”
A spokesman for the OPP headquarters says the force has received the letter and will review the application.
PC Party officials say the incorporation of non-profit associations is a common practice in the Chinese community, and most of the corporations that the Liberals linked with Ke staff are under that description. The PCs say some of the numbered companies marked by the Liberals were set up with the aim of buying personal property, with no political connection.
CBC News has also asked Ke for comments.
One association has received government funding this year
One of the corporations that the Liberals linked to Ke’s staff received $ 25,000 from the provincial government in February 2022.
The Agincourt Chinese Association of Canada received a grant to train 40 seniors “to become mental health volunteers / ambassadors to provide group support to participants,” a government press release said.
However, the PCs say Ke had no involvement in the granting of this funding, point out that the association has no headquarters in its constituency and deny that the association is directly linked to Ke’s staff.
According to the incorporation records, the sole director of the association is John Jiancheng Huang, who was married to Ke’s assistant, Yueyue Zhang. However, PCs say the couple separated in 2018, before the partnership was formed, and divorced in 2021, before the grant was awarded.
The documents show that four other corporations include Ke’s office manager, Yan Liu, or her husband, Xian Liu, as directors.
The Liberal Party’s letter states that Ke’s apparent pattern of staff involvement in the incorporations raises questions.
“It is important that the air is clean around this and that these people do not abuse Mr Ke’s role as a member of the provincial parliament,” Hall writes in the letter.