Evidence of meeting #26 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 know.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
No, but if they were sending me all the pertinent information to my BlackBerry about her schedule and I accepted it, then it would update on mine.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
Thank you, Mr. Davies.
We now go to the second round for five minutes.
Ms. Mendes.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good morning, Mr. Jaffer.
To follow up on Mr. Davies' questions, it appears that you had a close friendship with Minister Paradis. In fact, it seems that you met on several social occasions in Ottawa, including having some beers. He has described you as a friend. Would that be a fair characterization?
9:45 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
It's fair, except we only ever talked once after the election. I haven't met him in a physical meeting other than this exchange we had on the cellphone. I would have liked to, but I just hadn't met him or talked to him other than that call.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
9:45 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
I would have liked to, but we never had the opportunity.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—La Prairie, QC
It seems pretty clear that you did enjoy privileged access to this particular government, but you seem to say that there was nothing unusual in the fashion in which you approached the ministers or their departments, even the fact that you met with senior officials. Are you telling us that this is normal behaviour for the government?
9:45 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
Again, you have to put it in context. I didn't take any contracts from anyone to lobby anyone. I didn't ask for any government money, other than those initial summaries that went in. We never put any applications in for government money. My whole social network comes from almost 12 years of being an MP. Of course I'm going to have interactions with people, but because my wife was a cabinet minister and because I understood the laws, I wasn't going to break any confidence by trying to lobby people who would be put in an awkward situation. Finding out information during the process of when I was trying to establish a business is very different from being paid to get access or privilege.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—La Prairie, QC
But it's still privileged access, which I would say a Canadian, generally speaking, would not have.
9:45 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
You will have access to your party. Let's say the Liberal Party forms a government again. You will have access to those people after your time of service here. It won't change. But it's how you use that access. If you are planning to abuse it, which I doubt you will, you will do the same thing I did. You will talk to people. You will never take any money--
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Oh absolutely, socializing is not what is in question here. But I go back to April 2009, when you met with Mr. Wenger, one of Minister Prentice's senior staffers, in an office assigned to your wife, to Ms. Guergis, to discuss a proposal on behalf of RLP. What did Mr. Wenger tell you to do?
9:45 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
To clarify, that meeting we had in the office was not for any business. It was personal business at the request of Mr. Wenger.
9:45 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
No, it wasn't to do with personal business. I can recount the whole story of what happened, because I remember. Maybe I should, if that's what the statement says. I haven't seen this, so if you could—
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—La Prairie, QC
I will read the sentence in his letter to the Commissioner of Lobbying:
In the course of this conversation Mr. Jaffer asked if I would be willing to speak with a company that he was working with (RLP Energy Inc.).
I agreed to speak with RLP Energy Inc and subsequently received an email (attached) from Mr. Jaffer wherein he outlined a project in Alberta that RLP Energy was pursuing.
9:50 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
If I can just clarify that meeting so you have some context, I had run into Mr. Wenger on the street earlier that day, around lunchtime. It was close to where my office was located. He said he would like to talk to me about something. I said, “Well, I would be happy to meet with you. My office is just around the corner.” He said, “I'm busy until closer to the end of the day.” So I said, “That's fine. At the end of the day, around 5 or 5:30, I'll be leaving my office, going to meet my wife, and soon after we'll go home.” He said, “Well, Minister Prentice's office is in the Confederation Building as well, so why don't we just meet there?” I said, “Fine, how long do you want to meet?” He said, “Five or ten minutes”.
He and I have been friends for a long time—
9:50 a.m.
Green Power Generation Corporation
I know, but I just want to give you the context.
At his request, when we met about a number of different issues that were related to personal things he wanted to discuss, he asked me, “What sort of business are you doing?” So I told him, “Well, I'm involved in this. This is the sort of work we're doing on green energy.” He said, “If there's anything I can do to help you, please let me know.” I said, “There is this company that we're working with. I'll send you the information.”
That was the extent of it.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—La Prairie, QC
That's fine, Mr. Jaffer. I have to give the last few seconds to my colleague.
