Canadian MP Wajid Khan finds himself without a party.  As a Liberal, he raised eyebrows when he took an assignment from Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper to report back on visits to the Middle East.  He then crossed the floor to join the Conservatives, and his report on the Middle East, which he and Harper had promised to make public, now became confidential advice to the Prime Minister.  Some people questioned whether there was a report at all.

Canadian MP Wajid Khan

Now Khan faces charges of illegal spending in the last election campaign, when he was still a Liberal.  Elections Commissioner William Corbett has filed charges that he overspent permissible limits by about 40%.  MP Pat Martin, a New Democrat (socialist), is calling for criminal charges.  In the past, financial and other minor irregularities have often been dealt with through compliance agreements, but Martin is calling for something stiffer. 

Now, Khan is no longer Harper’s Middle East advisor, and he is out of the Conservative caucus.  He is sitting as an independent.