Evidence of meeting #18 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.
Bloc
Serge Ménard Bloc Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Mr. Schreiber, English is also my second language, so we'll be on the same footing here.
Bloc
Serge Ménard Bloc Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Mr. Schreiber, we understand that you don't like very much that right now the relations between you and Mr. Mulroney are really bad.
Bloc
Serge Ménard Bloc Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
However, I don't think the Canadian public can follow all the details you give us in this affidavit, in his letters, etc. Maybe you could do this in a royal commission, if we ever have one, but right now you have the advantage of being questioned by representatives of the people. We may be temporary representatives of the people, but it makes us much more sensitive to what the people think of this, and I don't think they want to have all the details you gave at first. So I'll ask you the questions that I think the people I meet all the time want to know, and to judge also who says the truth or who doesn't.
The first question I want to ask you is about the Airbus deal with Canada. Did you receive any advantage from that, any rewards or any monetary advantage?
Bloc
Serge Ménard Bloc Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Okay. Are you ready to tell us how much money it represented? I remember it was an enormous deal, I think one of the biggest in Canadian history, and maybe the biggest commission too.
As an Individual
Mr. Ménard, it was not only that; it was how the deal started, with Wardair and Canadian--
As an Individual
No, no, sorry, it's all one part and all one agreement--Wardair, Canadian, and Air Canada. At the same time, I had a huge thing going in the United States with Northwest Orient.
So now, when you ask me about huge money, yes. To make it very simple for you to understand--
Bloc
Serge Ménard Bloc Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
We have very little time. In a royal commission you'll have plenty of time to explain all of this.
I understand from your testimony today that it was Mr. Mulroney who asked you to give him some cash, right?
As an Individual
Well, no, he didn't ask me for cash. This was not the discussion. I came with the cash, but there was no discussion that he take it.
Bloc
Serge Ménard Bloc Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Okay. Why did you offer him some cash while, when you did business with Mr. Lalonde and other lawyers, everything was done through bank transactions?