Evidence of meeting #72 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was campaign.
A video is available from Parliament.
10:45 a.m.
Former Chief of the Asia-Pacific Unit, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, As an Individual
It was a very serious breach. Unfortunately, Mr. Harper's response at the time was that it was a personal matter and that there was no need to get involved. He allowed the person at issue to keep his job.
10:45 a.m.
Former Chief of the Asia-Pacific Unit, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, As an Individual
The journalist left owing to a personal squabble. I recall that it was her husband who had discovered the relationship between her and the parliamentary secretary, and he told a Toronto newspaper about it and sent along an exchange of emails between his wife and the parliamentary secretary.
10:45 a.m.
Former Chief of the Asia-Pacific Unit, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, As an Individual
No, he kept his job.
10:45 a.m.
Former Chief of the Asia-Pacific Unit, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, As an Individual
I believe so.
The example you gave was just one among dozens. This kind of negligence was occurring under whichever political party was in power at the time.
Canada has been losing all kinds of credibility with its international allies. As Mr. German said, there's a world of difference between saying and doing, and that's where Canada is losing credibility. Today, we have a historic opportunity to rectify matters, independently of what was done in the past. It's impossible to erase the past, but you can make sure that it doesn't happen again.
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Thank you very much.
Madam Chair, I forgot to start my clock. How much speaking time do I have left?
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Great.
Mr. Bourrie, thank you very much for your testimony here.
When you raised some issues, you actually went out of your way to identify to the authorities what the situation was.
10:45 a.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, As an Individual
It was at considerable personal cost, frankly.
I sent an email. Unfortunately, you don't have the material here, and it breaks my heart, frankly.
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
10:45 a.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, As an Individual
I told the Xinhua guy, “Look, this is not what Canadian journalists do.” I sent that to the press gallery. That was in April 2012. They did nothing. That was the staff and the journalists who were on the press gallery governing committee.
I went around and tried to get some sort of media coverage of it. I wrote an article that ran in August 2012 in Ottawa Magazine, and finally people woke up to the fact that this was going on.
Nobody in the government contacted me. Nobody at CSIS contacted me. This is the first CSIS agent I've laid eyes on in my life—as far as I know.
10:45 a.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
10:45 a.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, As an Individual
The gallery tried to frame it as a dispute between me and Xinhua. I said, “No, this is a problem with you and your governance.” When Xinhua said that they were going to sue me, I said that's fine; this is not my dispute, not my monkey, not my zoo, and I left it at that.
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Xinhua asked you to spy on the PM. They asked you to spy on the Dalai Lama. You reported this. What did former prime minister Harper do about it?
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
10:45 a.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, As an Individual
Nothing. I was completely and utterly on my own, reliant on, basically, the strength of my wife to get through this, as well as a couple of people in the press gallery.
In terms of the House, in terms of the government, in terms of the media, I was on my own. They wanted to live in a dream world, and I was not part of the dream.
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
I note for the record that another witness is going to be coming forward, the chief of staff to the Prime Minister. What question would you ask or would you want to have asked?
10:45 a.m.
Barrister and Solicitor, As an Individual
I would like to know why—and this echoes my new friend—they were so naive. I know, as I said as a background, that this was Hu Jintao's time and that things have changed with the new regime in terms of the ugliness and the mask falling on it, but even so, where was anybody on this at the time?
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Bourrie.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
