Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My name is Martin Perelmuter, and I'm the president and co-founder of Speakers' Spotlight.
Twenty-five years ago, my wife Farah and I got married, quit our jobs and started a business together out of a spare bedroom in our apartment. We had no speakers, no clients, no industry contacts or experience, and in fact, we had virtually no business experience of any kind, but we believed that, if we built our business on a foundation of trust and integrity, then the strength of our relationships with clients and speakers would ultimately determine our company's success.
Over the past 25 years, thanks to a tremendous amount of hard work, some good luck and the kindness of many people along the way, we've built a company we're extremely proud of. We're still a small business and today have a team of 27 of the most dedicated, hard-working and caring people I've ever known. We're honoured to represent many of the country's leading thinkers, inspiring individuals and outstanding speakers.
Our speakers' experience is as broad as it is deep, and they are all leaders in their respective fields, which include business, politics, sports, media, academia, science, technology, culture and entertainment. We book these individuals to speak on various topics from leadership and management to strategy and culture, to disruption and innovation, marketing and branding, diversity and inclusion, health and wellness, inspiration and more. Our clients represent a cross-section of leading corporations, associations, government agencies, colleges and universities, charities, health care organizations, school boards and educational institutions. Our expertise is connecting the right talent with an organization and managing the logistical arrangements so that everything runs smoothly.
A few of our speakers include astronaut Chris Hadfield, Olympian and mental health advocate Clara Hughes, technology entrepreneur Michele Romanow and CFL icon and humanitarian Michael “Pinball” Clemons, to name just a few.
Nine months ago, when COVID-19 hit, like for so many people and so many businesses, our world changed practically overnight. Our industry, the events industry, along with restaurants, bars and the travel and tourism industry, has been hit particularly hard. In just a few days in mid-March, we saw hundreds of speaking engagements that were to take place over the next three months, normally one of our busiest times of the year, wiped off the calendar. When the dust settled, it became clear that not only spring events were cancelled, but we likely wouldn't see any in-person conferences or events for the remainder of the year and beyond.
In the middle of a pandemic, with everyone working from home, we had to completely reimagine and reinvent our business on the fly. That's what we did. We pivoted to offering virtual speaking engagements to our clients. Needless to say, it was tough going, as very few clients were familiar with virtual platforms, and as a result, our business was down significantly. Of course, this is not just our story. This is the story of so many small businesses in Canada and throughout the world.
This brings us to the summer, when we received and responded to an order from the ethics committee to provide records pertaining to a wide range of speaking engagements dating back to 2008. Before I speak to our experience with the committee, I think it is important to make clear that we have no knowledge pertaining to the operations of WE Charity, the Liberal government or the Canada student service grant program. Like most Canadians, the first time we heard about the program was in late June or early July when we read about it in media reports.
I'd also like to make it clear that neither our company, Speakers' Spotlight, nor my wife Farah or I personally have any political affiliation. We have never actively been involved with any political organization, and I don't think we've ever even donated to a political party or campaign. In fact, if you look at our roster of political speakers, you'll see we work with people from across the political spectrum, including Rona Ambrose, Preston Manning, John Baird and Ambassador Bruce Heyman.
Given the scope of the request and the fact that we were given less than three business days to provide records dating back 12 years while our entire team was working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was impossible for us to meet the timeline set by the committee. Consequently, we asked for an extension to address the order, which was granted to us.
Prior to the new deadline, we were contacted by the clerk of the committee and told not to submit a response due to the prorogation of Parliament. In mid-October, we were once again contacted by the clerk of the committee, and once again, we promptly responded to the clerk's communication and let her know we would co-operate when called upon. On November 17, we received an extract from the Minutes of Proceedings of this committee containing an order for the production of documents. We complied and produced the documents on November 23, yet we've been the subject of many ridiculous claims and false accusations, which I won't dignify by repeating here.
On behalf of my staff, however, I must bring up the fact that, for the past three months, our company has been the subject of harassment, including personal threats to us and our staff. We have also been the target of a campaign designed to discredit us personally and cause reputational damage to our company. This is all outlined in my November 12 letter to you, Mr. Chairman, which I understand has been distributed to all members of this committee.
These events have transpired, despite the fact that we have treated this matter extremely seriously and at all times have responded to and communicated with the committee, following its requests and instructions. We're private citizens in a private company who have been needlessly dragged into the middle of this political firestorm and find ourselves caught in the crossfire.
Finally, I wish to remind members of the committee, as holders of public office in these increasingly divisive times, that your words and actions have consequences and that private citizens should not be used as tools to further political ambitions or agendas.
I now welcome your questions related to the files are that the subject of this order.
