Evidence of meeting #6 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was schreiber.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Thank you.
Excuse me, I have the affidavit here and I believe maybe the disagreement is in it.
The agreement was made--
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Mr. Chair, I'll work for some clarification here, if I could.
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
That's the difference.
Okay, Mr. Del Mastro, I'm going to give you three minutes.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that.
Mr. Schreiber, what you're saying is that there were discussions at Harrington Lake, simply that you would work together. No money changed hands. There was no talk of money. There was no talk of how much it would be, only that you would work together in the future. That was the discussion.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
When Brian Mulroney spoke in the Airbus inquiry in 1996, he was talking about an historical perspective. He said, “I had never had any dealings with him”. “I had never had any dealings with him.”
Had you ever had any private dealings with Mr. Mulroney when the Airbus purchase was going on? Had you ever had any private dealings with him? Had you ever paid him any money personally?
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
No, you had not. So his statement that he gave during the Airbus inquiry in 1996, “I had never had any dealings with him”, is accurate.
12:40 p.m.
As an Individual
In my opinion, yes, because Kim Campbell didn't take place and nothing else was on. The only business we later discussed was the pasta business. There was nothing else.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Thank you.
Mr. Schreiber, I want to come back to something else, because the reason Airbus has been a big story for a long time is that opposition members have alleged that the former Prime Minister took bribes--
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
-- to aid in the purchase of Airbus jets. Everything that you said today leads me to believe that Airbus jets were bought because it made sense, because there was a cost-benefit to it, because it was a good choice for Air Canada. Is that accurate?
12:40 p.m.
As an Individual
Yes, sir, and I have a lawsuit since 1997 and tried to bring out that truth in a courtroom. Unfortunately, I couldn't make him, because the government blocked me all the way through. There were only two ways for me: the lawsuit in a courtroom or this inquiry.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Is there anything sinister about a person who represents a company receiving commissions for representing a company?
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Thank you very much.
Colleagues, people are starting to watch the clock, and I think it's important to understand where we're going from here.
We have Mr. Asselin for five minutes, and then we're going to have Mr. Martin for five, and I think at that point we'll probably be right to the hour.
I'm going to then have some instructions for Mr. Schreiber concerning the necessity for a further appearance, then I'm going to adjourn the meeting, but I want members to stay. I want to move in camera with committee members. I want to clear the room at that time, at one o'clock, so that the members can have an opportunity to examine the documents that have been submitted to us, and to concur upon the most expeditious manner in which we can get the documents into the hands of all honourable members.
Mr. Hubbard, do you have a question?
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
Mr. Chair, I certainly object to that. Mr. Martin has already had his time to question. I believe my turn should come before the conclusion of this meeting.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
No. You are after Mr. Martin.
In the second round we have Mr. Dhaliwal and Mr. Del Mastro, and now we have Mr. Asselin. And then we have Conservative and then Liberal. That's the established routine of our committee, I can assure you.
Mr. Asselin, cinq minutes, s'il vous plaît.
December 4th, 2007 / 12:45 p.m.
Bloc
Gérard Asselin Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Schreiber, the Bear Head project was supposed to be built in Nova Scotia. When that didn't happen, you turned your attention to Quebec. Having failed to put the project into place under the maple leaf, you have chosen to try and make it happen under Quebec's fleur-de-lis.
That was an excellent initiative, by the way.
Mr. Schreiber, the Bear Head project was discussed in Cabinet, of which Mr. Jean Charest was a member as a senior minister. Was the lobbying effort maintained at the level of Mr. Mulroney, or were other ministers of the Crown, including Mr. Charest, approached about your project?
12:45 p.m.
As an Individual
Not to my knowledge, as long as I was not.... And Quebec was chosen by Mr. Mulroney because he said that the opportunity to get support from the government would be easier in Quebec because there he could be more helpful there than he could be in Nova Scotia.
I mean, for me, quite frankly, it was horrible, because it was somehow a betrayal.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Order.
We are having a little problem with Mr. Schreiber's microphone.
Could speak into your microphone? Just let it hang naturally and just speak, and we'll see if the translator picks it up.
Could we have his microphone on, please?
12:45 p.m.
Bloc
Gérard Asselin Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Schreiber, it was a project that was dear to your heart and for which you had given $300,000 to Mr. Mulroney. It was a project that you wanted to make happen in Quebec. I do not understand why, except for Mr. Mulroney, you did not try to lobby some ministers from Quebec, including Mr. Charest. If you did not direct any lobbying efforts toward Mr. Jean Charest, you have stated that you made a first instalment of $30,000 to Mr. Charest's brother during the conservative leadership campaign, when he was running against Ms. Kim Campbell. Is that true or false?
