New in Ethics report (6): Grewal's negotiations did not start out as a 'sting'

From the Ethics Commissioner's report:

Mr. Grewal and Mrs. Grewal both testified that while on their way to Question Period on Monday, May 16, 2005, he informed her for the first time that he had been contacted by Mr. Kalia. Mrs. Grewal’s response was “you’re wasting your time since, you know, we’re not going to be joining the Liberals.”

Grewal has claimed on many occasions that he never intended to become a Liberal and that he was stringing the Liberals along in order to expose them. (The Ethics Commissioner condemns such an attempt at entrapment as a breach of the code.) What both Grewals told the commissioner here shows that to be false. Nina's assertion that Gurmant's negotiations were a 'waste of time' because they were not going to become Liberals strongly suggest that crossing the floor was presented to her as a realistic possibility. Nina was skeptical, or opposed, or some combination of the two.

This helps us nail down the question of when Grewal decided to turn his attempt to cross the floor into a sting. Apparently on his way to question period on May 16th, he still thought crossing the floor was a possibility. The fact that there is no tape of the pizza date on the evening of the 16th may be relevant.

[edited for clarity]