As the Chair mentioned, I left politics in 1984 to return to private life. In October of that year, I became a partner at Stikeman Elliott, a major Canadian law firm, specialized in commercial law and international commercial arbitration. In 2003, I became senior counsel at the firm, and in July 2006, I retired. Since then, I have been working on my own, exclusively on international arbitration.
A few weeks ago, I received your invitation to appear before the committee, and I gladly accepted. There are, however, two things I must address. The first—to avoid any unnecessary questions—is that I know nothing more about the relationship between Mr. Mulroney and Mr. Schreiber than what has already been said before this committee and what has appeared in the media from time to time. Therefore, I have no information that would be relevant to the issues before this committee. The second—the lawyers here will understand this one—is that I am bound by my profession's code of ethics, in particular as concerns my clients' confidential information. My clients may speak freely about the work I do for them, but I do not have the same freedom, unless I receive their express authorization.
Nevertheless, I do not believe this should be an issue today, at least as concerns the Thyssen armoured vehicles. I believe that Mr. Schreiber has already told you that I worked on this matter for him around 1992. That said, I am pleased to answer your questions. I know you are short on time, so I will try to give you concise and accurate answers.