OTTAWA, June 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martinand his chief of staff will come under investigation for the alleged vote-buying scandal in the parliament in May, an official said here Thursday.

    Speaking to a Commons committee, ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro confirmed he would include Martin and Tim Murphy in his investigation, which begins next week. Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh is already under investigation.

    The ongoing probe will try to decide if the allegations were true that the ruling liberals had tried to buy the votes of two conservative members of the parliament for a vote of confidence.InMay, as the minority Liberals faced defeat in the House of Commons,conservative Parliament member Gurmant Grewal made public secretlyrecorded meetings and phone calls with Dosanjh and Murphy.

    The three discussed the possibility that Grewal and his wife, Nina Grewal, also a conservative Parliament member, would support the Liberals in a key confidence vote on May 19 in exchange for plum jobs.

    The central focus of the probe will be whether the conversations violated ethical standards drawn up by the prime minister, Shapiro said. Enditem