Ruby Dhalla at her best...may be it is yet to come


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bally minhas   
Member since: Nov 03
Posts: 161
Location: MISSISSAUGA

Post ID: #PID Posted on: 05-05-09 12:35:52

please lok at these news post and proofs.. Would you even consider her candidature?

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/628987

http://media.thestar.topscms.com/acrobat/75/92/5e79eabc422a9d55637c07af5bb8.pdf
(b)ALSO REMEBER HER kid beating episode in India (/b)

Fast-rising Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla has become entangled in the nanny trap, with allegations two nannies hired to care for her mother were illegally employed and then mistreated.

The nannies also allege Dhalla improperly seized their passports and family members forced them to do non-nanny jobs such as washing cars, shining shoes and cleaning family-owned chiropractic clinics.

Magdalene Gordo, 31, and Richelyn Tongson, 37, say they were hired by Dhalla to work at the family home in Mississauga and routinely toiled five days a week, earning $250 a week while working 12- to 16-hour days. The Dhalla family did not obtain the necessary federal approval under the Live-In Caregiver Program for the women to live and work in their home.

Ruby Dhalla said she is "shocked and appalled" by the allegations and never abused the nannies.

"Anyone who has ever worked in our home has been treated with a lot of love, with a lot of care and compassion and money has never, ever been withheld from anyone," Dhalla told the Star in an interview.

Dhalla, 35, is Liberal critic for youth and multiculturalism. The first Sikh woman in the Commons, she was first elected MP in 2004.

She's no stranger to controversy. A trip to India in January 2008 turned into a public relations nightmare after two children were beaten by police after an aide's purse was stolen. Dhalla was portrayed in the Indian media as uncaring about the children's fate. Later, Dhalla said she condemned violence of any kind.

Facing new allegations she mistreated nannies, Dhalla, in a statement released to the Star through a lawyer, said she has "no knowledge of the details regarding the live-in caregivers for her family" and had "no involvement in the selection, interviewing, hiring, supervising, sponsoring or any financial transactions whatsoever with a live-in caregiver for my family."

The allegations surfaced two weeks ago at a public meeting where nannies told two Ontario cabinet ministers that placement agencies and employers are using the federal Live-In Caregiver Program to keep them enslaved.

The meeting was held by provincial Education Minister Kathleen Wynne and Labour Minister Peter Fonseca after a Star investigation exposed widespread abuse in a program that allows Canadians to hire foreign caregivers to look after children, the elderly or people with disabilities.

Prompted by Wynne to speak their minds, nanny Gordo stood up and accused Dhalla, MP for Brampton-Springdale, of holding her passport and refusing to pay her when she quit.

"Seeing (Wynne) up there asking us to be strong and stand up for our rights, I had a flash of what happened to me and I decided to speak out," said Gordo, adding she admitted to the politicians she worked "illegally" at the Dhalla household without a work permit.

The Star learned of the allegations and began its own probe.

The nannies were hired in early 2008 to care for Tavinder Dhalla, Ruby's mother. According to an application submitted to Service Canada for hiring the second nanny, Ruby's brother, Neil Dhalla, said Tavinder has "a disability which makes it difficult for her to walk and stand for long periods." Preliminary approval documents did not arrive until after the nanny quit.

Both nannies say Tavinder appeared quite healthy, but had a foot problem that required massaging late in the evening. They claimed that, beyond providing morning and nightly tea for Tavinder, most jobs were cleaning-related, either in the house, outside or in chiropractic clinics owned by the family.

Nanny advocates say these jobs fall outside the federal guidelines for caregivers hired under the program. "Her mother had had me shovelling snow at midnight," said Gordo. "She wanted a slave, not a caregiver."

Dhalla's mother could not be reached for comment.

Gordo and Tongson were sent to work at the Dhalla home by Akemi Taniguchi, who runs a placement agency from her tiny North York bungalow. Taniguchi said she dealt mainly with Ruby Dhalla and placed the women after the MP assured her she could expedite the necessary work permits.

"I was told that she could work on it right away because she's an MP," said Taniguchi.

Both nannies complained to her of being overworked and she advised them both to leave, Taniguchi said. A third nanny sent to work at the Dhalla residence quit within days, Taniguchi said.

Gordo was the first nanny hired, and said she worked for the Dhalla family for about three weeks, starting at 7:30 in the morning and working as late as midnight.

Gordo claimed she was taken three times to clean the apartment of a family cousin, and did other jobs unrelated to caring for the mother. She quit and alleges it took her more than a month to get paid. Gordo said she was only paid after getting help from Brampton businessman Khalid Alvi, who confirmed to the Star he intervened.

The next nanny, Richelyn Tongson, worked for the Dhalla family for more than three months. Tongson said she was ordered to clean two chiropractic clinics owned by Dhalla's brother, Neil, as well as clean the home of the same cousin. Both Neil and Ruby are chiropractors, but Ruby said she no longer has ownership in the family clinics.

Part of her daily routine, Tongson claims, was to shine five pairs of Neil's shoes, and de-lint his suits. "Neil Dhalla himself showed me how to do it," she said of her shoeshine training. "He said I make sure every morning his shoes are shiny before he goes to work." Her day started at 7:30 a.m. and usually ended at 11 p.m. She wasn't paid overtime.

Tongson said Tavinder Dhalla also had her wash the family's three cars on several occasions and perform heavy-duty outside work that left her hands numb.

Tongson said she was interviewed and hired by Ruby Dhalla on Feb. 22, 2008, the same day Gordo said she quit. Tongson said Ruby Dhalla gave her a test, making a noodle dish. She said the MP liked it and put Tongson on a three-week "tryout," promising to sponsor her if she worked hard during the trial period, she said.

Tongson said she was paid $500 in cash every two weeks, plus room and board in the Dhalla home.

Ruby Dhalla, her brother and a family lawyer who responded to the Star's questions deny Ruby was involved in the hiring.

According to Tongson, Ruby Dhalla demanded and took all her personal documents, including her passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate, saying she needed them to fill out the application to hire her as a live-in caregiver.

Tongson said she grew concerned as weeks passed without her documents or work authorization materializing. She turned to Intercede, the agency that helps foreign workers. Intercede called Ruby Dhalla's office in Ottawa. According to Tongson, Dhalla flew home from Ottawa the next day. Tongson said the documents were left on the kitchen counter after Tavinder Dhalla had her sign a handwritten note saying she had given the documents to Neil Dhalla, and she could have had them back at any time.

Tongson signed the letter.

Ruby Dhalla vehemently denied any mistreatment of the nannies. "I've never held on to anybody's passport," Dhalla said." I've never raised my voice to anyone."

Gordo, who said she was owed money after she quit, claims Ruby Dhalla called and said she would pay if the nanny signed a letter saying she was well treated and properly paid. Gordo refused. Later, Gordo said she met Dhalla's mother, Tavinder, at a McDonald's and was handed $400 cash.

In the interview, Ruby Dhalla said nannies at the home work for her family, not her.

She said she spends four days a week in Ottawa. Gordo and Tongson said Dhalla arrived at the home every Thursday and left for Ottawa on Monday. They said she occupies the biggest suite in the four-bedroom house.

Dhalla said all queries should be directed to her brother.

"The allegations being made against my family are false and baseless," Neil Dhalla said in a statement. "At no time were any passports or documentation withheld from these individuals."

Neil Dhalla said Gordo worked at the home for only 11 days and at no time had she turned over her passport to anyone in the family. "My family has been a victim of an unscrupulous agency, as well as the caregiver," he said. His lawyer added Neil is "being used as a dupe and pawn by people desperate to remain in Canada at any cost."

Both Gordo and Tongson are currently working legally for families who treat them well, they said

Happy Reading!


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trying to find real persons


RESP   
Member since: Mar 04
Posts: 371
Location: Mississauga, Ontario

Post ID: #PID Posted on: 05-05-09 15:54:16

People like her bringing bad reputation to Indian community in Canada and polluting the political environment too... shame on her.:(


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Dont help others because others have helped you,,,,help others because its the right thing to do!!!

http://www.indopia.in/


Nightmare   
Member since: Apr 06
Posts: 1170
Location:

Post ID: #PID Posted on: 05-05-09 22:42:40

Quote:
Originally posted by RESP

People like her bringing bad reputation to Indian community in Canada and polluting the political environment too... shame on her.:(



I have never heard of Ruby raising issues and problems faced by Indian immigrants, most important and crucial being recognition of professional qualification and putting in place a system for providing "Canadian experience" so that obtaining designation or job becomes easy.

To be fair, none of the so called MPs or MPPs of Indian origin have raised issues faced by immigrants.

I never vote for MP or MPP of desi kind especially if they rae from Liberal party and hence issue of Nanny mistreatment is not relevant for me.

I think desis fall for this kind of non sense and hence a few MP or MPP with so called Desi roots get elected. This is absolutely unfortunate and I hope and urge Desis to vote MP or MPP based on their record, service and dedication rather than ethnicity. This is not India and we should absolutely discard Indian mentality of electing a person on ethnicity/caste / religion.

There is another weirdo Omar Alghabra who fortunately was defeated in last election but is quite adept at divisive politics.



investpro   
Member since: Nov 06
Posts: 1628
Location: carl sagan's universe

Post ID: #PID Posted on: 06-05-09 09:49:09

To add fuel to the fire.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/629718

Susan Delacourt
IN OTTAWA
Dale Brazao
IN TORONTO

The federal government is facing pressure to launch a legal probe of Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla in the wake of charges that she and her family illegally hired two nannies and subsequently mistreated them.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said yesterday there are several legal penalties for the type of allegations the nannies have made against Dhalla, 35, MP for Brampton-Springdale since 2004 and the Liberals' critic for youth and multiculturalism.

He did not specifically mention Dhalla or the specific allegations published in the Star and he said he could not launch his own probe for fear of politicizing the process.

"We're aware of stories of abuse of the rights of live-in caregivers that are very disturbing. These are typically vulnerable workers," Kenney told the Commons.

Dhalla did not make herself available to reporters yesterday, and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff would only say he was still "collecting facts" on the case.

NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow said that if the nannies' reports are true, "then there are three or four laws at least that have been broken, whether it's labour laws or immigration regulations."

The Star reported yesterday that two nannies, Magdalene Gordo, 31, and Richelyn Tongson, 37, have publicly complained they were abused while working as live-in caregivers for Dhalla and her family.

They alleged, during a public forum two weeks ago with two Ontario cabinet ministers, that their passports were seized, they worked unpaid overtime and were forced to do non-nanny jobs such as washing cars, shining shoes and cleaning family-owned chiropractic clinics.

"One question I have is if this information came to light in a public forum, I would hope that any responsible authorities would have notified the appropriate officials," Kenney said.

"I think these allegations may have been provided two weeks ago to a minister of labour in Ontario and I presume that the appropriate authorities were informed."

Jill Fairbrother, Ignatieff's spokesperson, would not say what facts he was collecting nor how long it would take him to make a decision, if any, on Dhalla's fate. Dhalla couldn't be reached for comment, but her office released a statement late yesterday saying she took the assertions in the Star story seriously.

"I have hired a lawyer to vigorously defend my reputation and ensure the facts of this matter are fully explored and corrected."

Dhalla told the Star on the weekend she was "shocked and appalled" by the allegations and said "anyone who has ever worked in our home has been treated with a lot of love."

Dhalla's name is becoming synonymous with controversy, and her troubles present Ignatieff with tough questions about how to handle someone who has been a loyal supporter of his since the 2006 leadership race.

Generally seen as a probable cabinet pick should Ignatieff ever assume power, Dhalla may be coming to be seen as too controversial, despite her photogenic and multicultural appeal. She's the first Sikh woman ever to be elected as an MP.

Only a little more than a month ago, Dhalla was embroiled in a dispute over release of a Bollywood DVD in which she appeared, before she got into politics.

And just over a year ago, while on a trip to India, Dhalla was portrayed as cavalier and insensitive when police administered beatings to two children who stole the purse of an aide to the Liberal MP. Dhalla later said she condemned violence of any kind.

Yesterday, the head of a non-profit group that advocates for caregivers said she gave Dhalla 24 hours to turn over the passport and other documents seized from Tongson.

Agatha Mason, executive director of Intercede, said she warned Dhalla that if she did not hand over the documents immediately she would call in the RCMP to retrieve them.

Mason said she called Dhalla in Ottawa last May after nanny Tongson, who was working "illegally" as a caregiver in the Dhalla home, was having trouble getting her documents back from her employers.

"I said to her, in 24 hours if you don't give her the documents I will call the RCMP – I have your address – and have them go there to get the documents," Mason told the Star.

Mason said she told Dhalla Tongson shouldn't be working at the Dhalla home because the family did not have federal approval under the Live-In Caregiver Program.

"I remember telling her that, until you have and LMO (government approval documents) the person is working illegally, so you're breaking the law," said Mason, adding she has notes and telephone records to prove she contacted Dhalla.

In a telephone interview with the Star last week, Dhalla denied she had spoken to anyone from the Toronto-based agency. "I have never spoken to anyone there," Dhalla said. "What is Intercede?"

The Independent Workers Association called on Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley to investigate Dhalla's employment of nannies, and for Dhalla to be relieved of critic's responsibilities until the inquiry is completed. "These accusations should be investigated promptly and thoroughly. And while the investigation is ongoing, Ms. Dhalla should step down," Peter Leibovitch of the association said in a news release.

Coincidentally, the Commons immigration committee – on which Dhalla once served as a member several years ago – is due to deliver a report today on undocumented and temporary foreign workers.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Conservative MP Paul Calandra (Oak Ridges-Markham) said the nannies' complaints painted a picture of "involuntary servitude" in their employment with Dhalla.

Kenney responded by listing potential offences Dhalla could be facing.

"If someone was working in a home who was here without a work permit appropriate for that job, that would be my ministry and so that should be reported to the officials at Immigration Canada. If someone was paid under the table without taxes paid, that should be reported to Revenue Canada. And if workers did not have their basic labour code rights respected, if they were forced to work 12 hours a day or something then that should be reported to the provincial ministry of labour," Kenney said.

"As it relates to passports, you know, I think that would probably fall within my ministry. Passports are the property of the government, are administered by the department of foreign affairs."

At Queen's Park, an aide to Labour Minister Peter Fonseca said the minister last spoke with Kenney about three weeks ago, before the public meeting where the allegations about Dhalla were raised.

Susan McConnell confirmed Fonseca was aware of Dhalla's case because he co-hosted the forum in question. But McConnell said the minister, who has been lobbying Kenney to fix the immigration system, has not discussed any individual cases with him.





Iknownothing   
Member since: Jan 08
Posts: 429
Location: Ohio

Post ID: #PID Posted on: 06-05-09 11:46:14

Quote:
Originally posted by Nightmare


This is absolutely unfortunate and I hope and urge Desis to vote MP or MPP based on their record, service and dedication rather than ethnicity. This is not India and we should absolutely discard Indian mentality of electing a person on ethnicity/caste / religion.




You were the one advocating the need of a Hindu vote bank back in India in one of your posts. So it is OK to do it in India and not here in la la land?

For some reason whats 'unfortunate' here becomes the need of the hour back home. Talk about double standards and spinelessness.

I don't know what you mean by 'Indian Mentality', but I don't think we need to discard anything. Instead, YOU need to discard some of the garbage that you carry in your head, may be then you can think clearly....oh wait, if you discard that garbage, there won't be anything left... :D

You crack me up oldie... :)



dudewheresmycar   
Member since: Jan 07
Posts: 980
Location:

Post ID: #PID Posted on: 06-05-09 12:54:33

I dont know what Nightmare has said in the past.. but i think i have to agree on this one..

Both Ruby Dhalla and Malhi are garbage. Both have done very little for the community and are getting elected because of their ethnicity..

Malhi was seen at pro LTTE rallies recently.

These guys are just interested in vote bank politics and not contributing to their precint ..

Both think they are above god like politicians in india do..

And as long as we have uneducated ethnic voters in their precint they will continue to get elected.




Quote:
Originally posted by Iknownothing

Quote:
Originally posted by Nightmare


This is absolutely unfortunate and I hope and urge Desis to vote MP or MPP based on their record, service and dedication rather than ethnicity. This is not India and we should absolutely discard Indian mentality of electing a person on ethnicity/caste / religion.




You were the one advocating the need of a Hindu vote bank back in India in one of your posts. So it is OK to do it in India and not here in la la land?

For some reason whats 'unfortunate' here becomes the need of the hour back home. Talk about double standards and spinelessness.

I don't know what you mean by 'Indian Mentality', but I don't think we need to discard anything. Instead, YOU need to discard some of the garbage that you carry in your head, may be then you can think clearly....oh wait, if you discard that garbage, there won't be anything left... :D

You crack me up oldie... :)



meghal   
Member since: Jul 04
Posts: 1651
Location: (0,0,0)

Post ID: #PID Posted on: 06-05-09 13:33:44

She has resigned from her post as Liberal critic, may be to avoid limelight, but I sincerely hope that she gets penalised if she is found guilty of any wrong doing (Same hope for all politicians who are charged and found guilty).

May be resignation is a way to escape the media attention so that the case against her lose steam and media loses interest. I hope not!!





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