Information & Ethics Committee on Nov. 29th, 2007

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

I think this is one question I should answer.

Because Fred Doucet told me that he is in desperate shape and needed money so badly that I should help him. There was a great mess because he and his wife had sold some furniture from 24 Sussex, which everybody knows, and the furniture belonged to the government and they had to undo the deal, though it was very obvious somebody was spurning there. And, yes, there was more than one reason. One was a bad project, and the other one was that he was helpful in the unification of Germany.

Those were the two reasons, when I went to Harrington Lake. Later on, all this nonsense with the pasta was five years later.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I am waiting for the translation.

The interpreter tells me that she did not hear your last sentence, and she is asking that you repeat it. Would that be possible?

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Could you please repeat what you said, for the interpreter.

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

At the end, I said all this had nothing to do with any pasta business. It had nothing to do with any pasta business; it simply didn't exist.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Did that have anything to do with other services that he provided to you when he was Prime Minister?

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

Services when he was Prime Minister?

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

If I ask you for $300,000 to balance my budget, are you going to give me the money?

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

Under the circumstances, yes.

[Laughter]

On top of this, you get a laugh.

I'll give you another laugh. It was not $300,000 that we discussed, it was $500,000. But he received only $300,000 because he did nothing, simple like that. That's it.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I see. He was therefore supposed to do something for $500,000?

You stated that he was to receive $500,000. He was therefore supposed to do something for the $500,000. What was he supposed to do?

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Excuse me.

Mr. Schreiber, could you please lean a little closer to the mike when you respond, so that the translator can quickly give the information to Madame Lavallée?

I'm not going to take that off your time, Madame.

Carry on, please, with your answer.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you.

I will repeat my question, which might be easier. Mr. Mulroney was supposed to receive $500,000. He only received $300,000 because, if I understood correctly, he did not do the work that you had asked him to do. What was that work?

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

Madam, this is what we have right now in front of the court in Toronto where I sue him for the repayment. So I don't know whether I should even speak about it, as long as it's in front of the court. But you'll find out pretty soon what it is.

By the way, all these things--I have to say this, to give you an idea--this is about 80 files, only lately we received in my case about 35,000 pages. I think some members have no idea what we are talking about. Twenty-five years in business and I'm prepared to tell you all what it is, but based on proper documents, as I was told I could do. I was unable to look it up, and I want really to provide you with the truth. Everybody is speaking about the truth. Keep in mind, I asked for the inquiry. Allow me to do it my way. Otherwise, I'm not prepared to do it.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I would inform you that this parliamentary committee is not a commission of inquiry and that it has a very different role to play. You could answer 90 percent of the questions we are putting to you here without even consulting your files. I am convinced that you have a good memory.

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

I know I have a good memory, but I also told you I am a judge, and I have to make sure that when I give evidence here under oath, Ma'am, it fits. Justice Bélanger wrote in one decision where the crown tried to make me a hostile witness, and I said that I have to be careful not to commit perjury even by chance, and he added that Mr. Schreiber said he was born ugly, not stupid.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Thank you very much.

We now move to Mr. Martin for seven minutes.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Schreiber.

Mr. Schreiber, it's our goal to follow the money and also follow the paper trail in the coming days and weeks that I hope that we have together.

I have a simple question about the money, first of all. Did the cash payments that you gave to Mr. Mulroney come from the account of the secret commissions on the Airbus sale?

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

I rest on my statement—

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Surely, that's a very straightforward question. You must remember where the money came from, Mr. Schreiber. Which bank account did it come from? It went into the “Britan” account--is that correct?

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

You know all this from The Fifth Estate. It's shown where the money goes—

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Where did it come from? Did it come from the account of secret Airbus commissions?

[Karlheinz Schreiber]

No. It came from the account where all the money went in.

Mr. Chairman, we come exactly to this point where this is so broad because all the projects went somewhere else and it was government participation. It was a fight for the surviving of an Airbus industry in Europe.

This thing is so complex, I want to give you one idea to understand. Eddie Greenspan is for sure not a dumb person, and he needed five and a half months to understand my case, and the same in Germany. So how can anybody here understand in two minutes or half an hour what the case is?

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Order.

I thank you for that, but it is Mr. Martin's time, so I'll ask--

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

We've been following this case for twenty years, Mr. Schreiber. I think we'll catch on. We'll be a quick study.

I would ask you, Mr. Schreiber, to table and produce for this committee all your personal calendars and notebooks from that period. I believe it's within the authority and powers under the Speaker's warrant for the production of papers as requested at committee. I'll serve notice of that today. I expect them in a timely fashion.

Now I'm going to pass over to my colleague for his questioning.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

No, he's not signed in, unfortunately. So carry on. There's only one and a half minutes left in the NDP slot. Carry on, if you may.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

I will use up the rest of the time, Mr. Chairman.