Evidence of meeting #51 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was conservative.
A recording is available from Parliament.
8:35 p.m.
Conservative
Paul Calandra Conservative Oak Ridges—Markham, ON
Do you think you're the only person in the history of this country, since 1867, that has ever made a mistake in government?
8:35 p.m.
Conservative
Paul Calandra Conservative Oak Ridges—Markham, ON
The opposition talks about ministerial accountability. I remember when I was a student. I think it was...oh, gosh, I think it was the HRSDC minister. There was a billion-dollar boondoggle about money that wasn't getting spent. I don't recall the minister who resigned at that point from the Liberal Party. I remember when the sponsorship money was being stolen, the hundreds of millions of dollars. I don't recall which minister it was who resigned for that. They might be able to refresh my memory a little bit later on.
What I'm trying to get at here is this. I hope that what has truly become simply a partisan attack—
8:35 p.m.
An hon. member
[Inaudible--Editor]
8:35 p.m.
Conservative
Paul Calandra Conservative Oak Ridges—Markham, ON
It has simply become a partisan attack on your character. You're being used to try to score cheap, partisan, political points. I think that is quite clear tonight.
I hope, despite all of that, you will continue to work on the things you value and perhaps one day seek political office, because you seem to be a person of great character.
I hope that this opposition, for the most part Liberal, witch hunt—when you have nothing else to talk about, I guess bringing in a young staffer who has admitted to making a mistake is good theatre—hasn't dissuaded you from moving on, continuing to be a part of our society, and continuing your contributions to this place.
8:35 p.m.
As an Individual
I appreciate the member's comments. I don't feel particularly wronged by this committee. I don't feel that the questions have been inappropriate. In fact, I have a great deal of affection for individual members of this committee who have on more than one occasion, whether they know it or not, been very kind to me.
I should point out that about seven weeks ago when I was first flying to Ottawa, Dr. Bennett helped bump me up to the front of the line on a flight.
I don't feel wronged by anyone here. I don't feel wronged by the committee. I have nothing but the greatest of respect for this committee.
8:40 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
Mr. Nejatian, I have been listening to your testimony from the beginning, and I must say that I am rather confused. You do have some experience. You were an Alliance candidate in 2000, you campaigned for the Conservative Party, and you studied law. I feel that your testimony is rather unbelievable in some respects. You were hired as the Director of Multicultural Affairs in Minister Kenney's office, but you seem to have no job description and you don't know exactly what your mandate is. You do not have a job description. That's what you said earlier.
You have been testifying for about an hour, and I am trying to understand some elements of your testimony better. There are certain contradictions between the brief you submitted and your oral presentation. Among others, your write that two volunteers delivered the documents, but in your oral statement, under oath, you say they were parliamentary assistants. There are two versions of the story, and you appear somewhat bemused. I don't know what is going on, whether you are playing... I understand that you had been working there for six weeks, but with the experience you have, some things are inexcusable. Some of your answers are just not very clear.
I will try to ask you a few clear and simple questions to see if you can provide us with clear answers.
Who delivered the letters to Conservative MPs? Were they volunteers or parliamentary assistants?
8:40 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
So they were volunteer interns. There are volunteer interns who are not paid by the government working in the Minister's office! Could you provide us with the names of those two individuals?
8:40 p.m.
As an Individual
Mr. Chair, I'm happy to share the names of the volunteers with the committee. Is it okay if I do it offline?
8:40 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
Pardon me, Mr. Chair, but his brief states that volunteers delivered the letter to Conservative MPs. In his oral testimony, he said two or three times that the delivery was made by parliamentary assistants. Afterwards, he was talking about interns, and now his version is changing again. He is testifying under oath, Mr. Chair. Could he tell us, once and for all, who actually delivered the letters?
You gave us three versions: one written version and two oral versions. Which is the true one?
8:40 p.m.
As an Individual
If the committee heard me say three different things, I'm sorry. The letters were delivered by two volunteer interns who worked at our Parliament Hill office, one of whom split her time working at our Parliament Hill office and doing some work on the departmental side. I wasn't there when they were hired. Actually, I was there when one of them was hired.
8:40 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
They are volunteers, so they are not paid, correct?
8:40 p.m.
As an Individual
Neither of them, to the best of my knowledge, ever received a pay cheque, although I think they were both members of the party and wanted to volunteer for Mr. Kenney.
8:40 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
We are talking about party members working in a minister's office on Parliament Hill. I think that this is a problem. This is extremely confusing! We get the feeling that this minister's office is being used as a base for the Conservative Party. Partisan letters are sent out, and anything goes, it seems. Mr. Nejatian's testimony makes me very uncomfortable. At first, I thought these were just unfortunate contradictions, but we are no longer talking about contradictions; this is now a consistent statement that they no longer differentiate between volunteers and employees. We are talking about party volunteers working in a minister's office. The witness has repeated this three times. Something is not right here. Party volunteers, Conservative Party supporters, are working in a minister's office!
8:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
Mr. Nejatian, could you be a little more specific as to the capacity of these individuals? Were they part of the parliamentary intern program, or were they part of another established intern program? Were they volunteers to the Conservative Party of Canada? Please give the committee a little more information on the background of these two individuals.
8:45 p.m.
As an Individual
I apologize for not being clear. I believe they were both students at Carleton University, although I can't be sure. They are both current students of Carleton University. They both volunteered while they were in school. I volunteered when I was in school. I didn't think it was unusual.
8:45 p.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
Mr. Chair, I demand that Mr. Nejatian tell us who these people are. If he does not wish to provide their names now, he could send them to us later so that we can know who is working in the Minister's office. We should know who these party volunteers, as he has referred to them, are.