Evidence of meeting #101 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
A video is available from Parliament.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Massingham is listed. You're not listed as the head of SCL Canada. Mr. Massingham is. I want to know how that happens.
Chief Executive Officer, AggregateIQ
Mr. Angus, I can't speak to what marketing materials they've put out or what they do with my contact information, but I can tell you that we are not a part of SCL or Cambridge Analytica.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Really? Okay. I would suggest, then, that there's been incredible international fraud perpetrated here against you, Mr. Massingham, when I look at your name and see it's listed as the head of SCL Canada by a reputable British company that's been involved in all kinds of international work, see they had a phone that led right to you. Were you aware? When did you become aware that SCL had a phone that went directly to you?
Chief Executive Officer, AggregateIQ
It wasn't until recently, when this was brought up in the press, that I was even aware of that.
Chief Executive Officer, AggregateIQ
As I said, we're separate companies.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Okay. I want to get back to the issue that brought us here, the issue that came out of the Brexit campaign, that they're accusing you of being an electoral money laundering machine. One of the key elements of that is your role with BeLeave and the 625,000 pounds that went directly through this marginal students group into your operation, and then was used in the last six days of the Brexit campaign. Do you think that may have affected the result, because that's what they're saying in the United Kingdom?
Chief Executive Officer, AggregateIQ
I can't speak to what effect it might have had. I only know what BeLeave asked us to do, which was to place their ads, and that's what we did.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Did you have any concerns at any time that it might be illegal?
Actually, Mr. Silvester, here's a chance for you to answer. Mr. Wylie said he approached you, and he said you thought it was all quite amusing, and that you said it was totally illegal.
Mr. Silvester, why did you say it was totally illegal?
Chief Operating Officer, AggregateIQ
I don't think I ever said to Mr. Wylie that what was happening was totally illegal. As I mentioned to you earlier—
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Wylie's going to come, and he's going to say you did say it. He's already said it in testimony, so just fess up. Did you say it was totally illegal?
Chief Operating Officer, AggregateIQ
Mr. Angus, we're trying to provide you all the information we have to be as helpful as possible, and to give everything we know about what is true. That's what we're continuing to do.
I don't know how Mr. Wylie came to the misunderstanding about what I had said. When I heard about it in the press, I believed it was a misunderstanding. I sent a text to Mr. Wylie to ask him to talk about it.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
It wasn't a lie. It was just a misunderstanding that you said something was totally illegal.
Chief Operating Officer, AggregateIQ
I don't know why he is saying it, Mr. Angus. I only know what we've done.
Liberal
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Thank you very much.
After my first round of questioning, I received a note from the chair of the U.K. digital and culture committee, Damian Collins. After my questions, he has spoken to the U.K. Information Commissioner. She has indicated that AIQ has refused to answer her specific questions relating to data usage during the referendum campaign, and that the U.K. Information Commissioner is considering taking further legal measures to secure the information she needs.
So, in this round of questioning, I would ask for a little bit more honesty.
Mr. Massingham, you received 625,000 pounds, or so, from the Vote Leave campaign to do work on behalf of BeLeave. Is that correct?
Liberal
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
You also received 100,000 pounds from the Vote Leave campaign to do work for Veterans for Britain. Is that correct?
Liberal
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Did you receive any other funds from Vote Leave to do any other work on any other campaign?
Liberal
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
The 625,000 pounds from Vote Leave for BeLeave, the 100,000 pounds for Veterans for Britain from Vote Leave, and then the 2.7 million pounds directly from Vote Leave for work for Vote Leave. That is the picture.
