Evidence of meeting #5 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.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Order.
Okay. Mr. Martin has now moved away from the table, and Mr. Mulcair has the floor.
There is less than two minutes left, Mr. Mulcair.
12:25 p.m.
NDP
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Schreiber, we want to know if, during the 1993 election campaign, you made a $500,000 payment to Mr. Marc Lalonde. If such is the case, what were the reasons for this payment? We would like to know when and where you met Mr. Lalonde.
We want to know why you made a $10,000 donation to the Liberal Party of Canada in 1993.
We especially want to know what you mean in the letter you sent. You state that Brian Mulroney is an excellent advocate. The Act respecting the Barreau du Québec sets out, in its regulations, very strict rules for lawyers charging fees to clients. The term “advocate“, in the English version of the Loi sur le Barreau, is reserved for members of the Bar.
In using the term “advocate“ to describe Mr. Mulroney's work, are you inferring that he did the work of a lawyer? If so, that might imply all sorts of things, because there are provisions of the Code of ethics of advocates that prohibit one from giving false evidence. There are rules that very clearly prescribe the way one must maintain one's bookkeeping and invoicing.
We will have to know if Mr. Mulroney had the slightest pretence of acting as an advocate, within the meaning given to the term in the Act respecting the Barreau du Québec.
12:30 p.m.
As an Individual
I rest on my statement and I will not answer this question.
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Thank you very kindly.
We will now move on to Mr. Hiebert for seven minutes.
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
David Tilson Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Chairman, I have one question, and then Mr. Hiebert will follow.
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
David Tilson Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Yes.
Just to confirm the question Mr. Martin asked Mr. Schreiber, the committee requires all your papers. So when you appear the next time, we will require all those papers at that time. We don't want you to leave them somewhere. We expect you to bring them here, so we can look at them the next time. Do you understand that?
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Order, order.
I don't want an argument going back and forth here. Mr. Tilson, pose your point; Mr. Schreiber, if you would wait until the member has posed his question, then make the appropriate response you would care to make.
12:30 p.m.
As an Individual
I rest on my statement. I will not answer this question.
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
Mr. Schreiber, I have a couple of simple questions I'd like to ask you. They only require a yes or no answer. They're not complicated, and I hope you'll be willing to provide me with the answers.
Have you ever spoken directly with, or met, Prime Minister Stephen Harper?
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
Has a lawyer, while acting on your behalf, ever met with or spoken with Prime Minister Harper?
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
Have you or a lawyer acting on your behalf ever met with or spoken with a member of the staff of Prime Minister Harper's office?
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
We understand from media reports that you've attempted to correspond with the Prime Minister. Has the Prime Minister ever replied to your correspondence?
12:30 p.m.
Conservative
Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
You're saying the Prime Minister's Office replied to your correspondence. Can you give me the date of that correspondence, or the nature of that correspondence?
12:30 p.m.
As an Individual
Here we're now exactly where I said: without evidence, we can't do this, and I cannot answer this question.