Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro has found that Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh did not offer former Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal political rewards to sway his decision to cross the floor ahead of last spring's crucial budget vote.

"While it is not clear whether Mr. Grewal genuinely sought an inducement to change his vote or whether he just acted the part in an attempt to entrap Mr. Dosanjh, his actions were, in either case, extremely inappropriate," Shapiro says in a report that was released Wednesday.

"If his intent was the former, he committed an extremely serious breach of sections 8 and/or 11 of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons. If his intent was the latter, his actions were at odds with Principle 2(b) of the Members' Code."

The report follows a request from NDP Member of Parliament Yvon Godin to investigate the circumstances.

Specifically, Godin requested that the ethics commissioner examine the following allegations:

• That Grewal sought inducements from Dosanjh and/or Tim Murphy, chief of staff to Prime Minister Paul Martin; or Dosanjh or Murphy offered inducements to Grewal to change his vote or votes on matters before the House of Commons of Canada;
• That Grewal surreptitiously audio taped conversations with Minister Dosanjh and/or others; and
• That Grewal attempted to entrap Dosanjh into improper conduct.

In a thinly veiled critique, Shapiro says, "The facts of this case have clearly not enhanced the public's confidence and trust in the integrity of the House of Commons and its Members. Indeed, I believe the public's trust and confidence has been weakened."

The taping scandal provided Canadians with a glimpse of politics in "its least attractive form," Shapiro said.

The ethics commissioner goes on to say that "genuine political principles and competency" did not appear to feature in the talks.

Instead, over a period of three days, the parties engaged in a conversational dance in which each was trying to ascertain what, if anything, the other was offering.

Grewal first waded into the controversy after announcing he had secretly recorded conversations that proved he and his wife, Tory MP Nina Grewal Nina, were offered plum positions in exchange for voting with the minority Liberal government in a confidence vote on May 19.

Dosanjh and Murphy denied the vote-buying charges, although they did hold talks with Grewal.

Soon after Grewal released the recordings, he took temporary stress leave.

But his respite from politics became permanent in November, when he announced that he would not seek re-election.