Evidence of meeting #15 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 39th Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was schreiber.
A recording is available from Parliament.
As an Individual
Of course, I would be pleased to submit my correspondence with Mr. Chrétien about that, if you like.
NDP
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
I would be glad to see it.
I would now like to ask you if you registered to engage in lobbying, as required by the law. Lobbying is a legal activity, but one must register. Were you registered to engage in legal lobbying in that case in 1995?
As an Individual
Thank you for asking the question. I am pleased to answer that although my name does not appear to be on the registry, I did everything that could reasonably have been expected of me—
As an Individual
I will respect your questions, and I would ask that you respect my answers.
NDP
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Yes, but you said that you did everything you could, but you did not comply with the law.
NDP
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
We do not have much time, Mr. Lalonde. I just want to know whether or not you were registered.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
I'm enjoying this too, but the translators can't keep up with you. You're going a little too fast.
Please--question, answer.
As an Individual
As soon as the Lobbyists Registration Act was passed, I took great care to register every time. In fact, I even registered when I did not have to, just because of my political past.
There was nothing secret about my work for Thyssen and Bear Head. I explained what that was about earlier. It was actually made public in 1986. There was an article in the Globe and Mail about it. Also, in 1987, an access to information request was submitted. I was asked if I would authorize disclosure of my communications, and I authorized it with no hesitation whatsoever.
The first time I heard that my name was not on the list was in December 2007. A reporter from the Halifax Chronicle Herald called me and told me that my name did not appear to be on the list. At the time, I was in Vancouver overseeing an important international arbitration case, and I did not have access to my files. I told him that I was unable to answer immediately, but that I was sure I was registered. I did not get back to my office until about 10 days later. I looked into the matter thoroughly, but could find no trace of having registered, which came as a complete surprise to me.
So I called up my old files and found that for November 23, 1993, there were two items on my agenda, one for Bear Head that said “lobbyist registration, one half-hour”, and another for Abbott Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company, that said “lobbyist registration, one quarter-hour”. I also tracked down our office’s time log—we always kept track of our time—and there was a notation for November 23 that said, “lobbyist registration, one half-hour.”
NDP
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Thank you, Mr. Lalonde.
We do not have much time. I gave you plenty of time, but my question was quite specific. You were not on the list of lobbyists when you lobbied Mr. Chrétien, your former cabinet colleague, on Mr. Schreiber's behalf. Is that correct?
NDP
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Oh, so it was your secretary’s fault.
I do have more questions, Mr. Lalonde, and we do not have much time. I appreciate your experience and the length of your answers.
NDP
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
The public knows your answer to the first question, and we will now move on to the second, Mr. Lalonde.
How much money did you earn from Mr. Schreiber's companies or from Mr. Schreiber himself during the time you represented him?
How much money did Mr. Schreiber pay you in total?