NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is in trouble after posting a picture on Twitter and Instagram with him holding his newborn daughter in a rocking chair.
While most people commented positively on the cute dad and daughter photo some people quickly realized the Canadian furniture company, Monte Design, tagged within the image, and began questioning Singh’s ethics as a Politician. Monte Design had sent the rocking chair to GurKiran Kaur Sidhu as a payback for her Instagram post, and Singh tagging it on his Instagram page breaches laws set out in the Canadian Conflict of Interest Act.
How I’m spending my time these days // J’ai une nouvelle partenaire pour passer le temps
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) January 17, 2022
🥰❤️ pic.twitter.com/NI77H2TLGA
Commnets on Twitter, read "Accepting free gifts in exchange for Instagram posts? Very ethical. Not quite Airbus Scandal worthy but you have to start small and work your way up I guess"
"Ethics breach, advertising chair received as gift"
"Really nice chair. How do I get a chair like that, without patronizing a company that offers chairs to politicians' families in exchange for free adversiting"
The law requires elected officials to declare gifts priced over $200 within a month's time of getting them.
Earlier in 2018, the current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau was fined $100 for not declaring a pair of sunglasses.
The grey rocking chair shown in the picture sells on Monte Design’s website in the range of US $1,695 and US $1,895.
Singh and wife have stated that they have realized their error and will be paying for the chair. The NDP says it is working with the Ethics Commissioner and intends to file a formal disclosure report.
Darpan Magazine has reached out to Jagmeet Singh’s Director of Communication Mélanie Richer for comment.
Photo courtesy of Instagram.
