Canadian Heritage Committee on March 23rd, 2011

[Tom Pentefountas]

Thereafter you're called down....

I don't know who did the questioning. There were four or five people there. I may have taken notes and asked their names, but that document is taken back. You leave the room empty-handed, the same way you came in.

You're interviewed. A few days later you get a call, a supplemental interview, to discuss--

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Was Louise Larlee, from the Prime Minister's Office, involved?

[Tom Pentefountas]

Who?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Louise Larlee, from the Prime Minister's Office.

[Tom Pentefountas]

Never heard of the person, sir.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Never heard of the person.

[Tom Pentefountas]

No.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Okay.

I guess our concern here is—

[Tom Pentefountas]

If I might just finish, I'll just give you the timeline.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

I think my time is running out here. I just wanted to ask a question.

You don't read The Globe and Mail and you don't follow question period, but Lawrence Martin said—here are your qualifications—“Mr. Pentefountas comes equipped with two qualifications: his close friendship with the PM’s director of communications—” he didn't add Mr. Housakos as well—“and zero experience in telecommunications”.

Are you concerned that because of your very close relationship with Mr. Housakos, who gave you the nod for this job, and your close relationship with Dimitri Soudas, who is the director of communications right in the Prime Minister's Office, it looks a little odd that they were looking around for a job for you? You didn't like the other ones, but now you're vice-chair of broadcast? Don't you think that looks like political cronyism at the highest level?

[Tom Pentefountas]

If we could just set the record straight, Leo Housakos is a friend of mine. We've broken bread together. We know each other well. Our families know each other.

Dimitri Soudas is a gentleman I met maybe ten years ago in old Montreal. I think he was working either on the campaign for Mayor Tremblay or the party thereafter. It was in a food court. My office in old Montreal, the courthouse, is in old Montreal, and I might have spoken to him for a couple of minutes. I think he was 19 at the time, or 18.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

So you—

[Tom Pentefountas]

Let me finish.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Angus.

Go ahead, Mr. Pentefountas, quickly.

[Tom Pentefountas]

Thank you, Mr. President.

Shortly thereafter, he moved out west to take up a position with the Canadian Alliance or some party at the time. Over the last ten years, I've seen him maybe on two or three occasions in reception hall types of events in Montreal, with hundreds of other people there. I've spoken to him on a few occasions since then.

We are not close friends. We have not had lunch together. We have not had a drink together. I've never been to his house. He's never been to my house.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you very much, Mr. Pentefountas.

[Tom Pentefountas]

Those are the facts.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Mr. Del Mastro.

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Peterborough, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Galipeau just wants to make a brief statement that he thinks is relevant.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

My apologies. I thought Mr. Del Mastro wanted...

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Peterborough, ON]

I'm just going to share my time with Mr. Galipeau.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Okay, go ahead, Mr. Galipeau.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Chairman, I have just been listening to Mr. Pentefountas talking about his experience and particularly about how he found out about his appointment. He might be interested to hear that in 1981, when I was appointed to the board of directors of TVOntario, it was a journalist who broke the news to me by calling me late in the evening to congratulate me. I didn't know yet.

In the newspaper, the next morning, that was pretty much my reaction: I didn't know that the Government of Ontario had appointed me to that position.

[Tom Pentefountas]

The problem is that—

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

I still did my job for six years.