No.
Evidence of meeting #13 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was company.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #13 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was company.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
4:25 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
No, not at all.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Rod Bruinooge Conservative Winnipeg South, MB
So the point that I'm trying to ask from you on this is, do you see the relationship that you had with Mr. Jaffer's company as being one that clearly had no access to the Prime Minister's Office, clearly had no access to any government money?
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
Yes, I do. One hundred per cent, I do. I saw no access to the Prime Minister's Office. That's something I said on my own, and again, I take responsibility for it. But I don't believe Mr. Jaffer was doing anything offside in any way. That's my honest opinion.
Certainly, from here on, if I ever deal with government again, it will definitely be on the basis of dealing with a lobbyist who's registered. I'll be ensuring that they are, checking their references, and making sure they have good standing with the federal government of Canada.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Rod Bruinooge Conservative Winnipeg South, MB
Would you agree that it's important as the CEO of a company to do your due diligence?
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
Absolutely, and maybe there's a lesson in that. Maybe more CEOs in Canada need to be aware of what the rules are. I think perhaps you might be surprised at the number of CEOs who don't know about....
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Rod Bruinooge Conservative Winnipeg South, MB
So for your shareholders, do you think they deserved more due diligence from you on this?
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
Absolutely. One hundred per cent. I would definitely take a stand on that, and I will never make this mistake again.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Rod Bruinooge Conservative Winnipeg South, MB
How have your shareholders been affected by, I guess, your lack of understanding--
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
It's been a cancer.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
It's been a cancer. Every significant party that I have dealt with has stepped away from me, for obvious reasons. My business has been wiped out.
There's not a lot I can say besides the fact that I lost my business overnight and I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, and I didn't think Rahim Jaffer was doing anything wrong. That's a tough one. I'm the same guy now that I was two or three weeks ago.
But point taken, yes, I should have done more homework. I should have understood this space better. I should have checked to see.... I should have known. I didn't understand the whole lobbying and federal accountability stuff and I didn't know. I take it upon myself to learn it.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Rod Bruinooge Conservative Winnipeg South, MB
I'm not sure that's a good excuse for your shareholders, though.
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
It's the truth, though. It's not an excuse. It's just an honest answer.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Rod Bruinooge Conservative Winnipeg South, MB
In the past, how would your father's company have engaged in interacting with government?
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
My father applied on behalf of his company himself. He didn't use a lobbyist or an intermediary at all. I got to see how he applied and what sort of packages he put together, etc., but again, the honest truth is that I didn't know about it. I certainly, in retrospect and hindsight, should have known about it, and I will know about it before I approach government ever again.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, Mr. Gillani. I don't think you should be intimidated by all of this discussion around the Accountability Act, and lobbyists, and so on. You're a businessman. You're allowed to ask for help. You're allowed to refer your business to whoever you want. It's up to them and it's up to the people at the other end.
Mr. Gillani, in the past six months, two companies listed as clients of International Strategic Investments reinvented themselves as environmental firms. This was the same period during which you were having discussions with Green Power Generation about securing federal green funding.
One is Skias Management, which became Eco Recovery, and the other one is TCN Systems Group, which became CleanAir Tek.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Did these changes have anything to do with Mr. Jaffer's perceived access to green funds?
4:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, International Strategic Investments
No, not at all.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
By the way, did Mr. Jaffer ever say to you or to anybody in your presence, “I have contacts within the government and I have knowledge of how this is being done and how we can help you?”
