Information & Ethics Committee on July 17th, 2024

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Was it a fifty-fifty partnership?

[Stephen Anderson]

That's correct.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

He was not operational.

[Stephen Anderson]

He was operational in 2020 and 2021.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

In the structure of your organization, who reported to whom?

[Stephen Anderson]

Neither—we reported to each other.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Did you report to anybody at any given time?

[Stephen Anderson]

No.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Then you were a principal, he was a principal and it was fifty-fifty.

[Stephen Anderson]

That's correct.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

At the height of your operations, what was the revenue?

[Stephen Anderson]

At the height...$35 million.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Then out of that, what did the compensation look like in dividends between the two owners?

[Stephen Anderson]

I can't speak to his compensation. You would have to ask him that—

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Well, I mean, respectfully, you can because you're here as a principal officer—

[Stephen Anderson]

I am a principal, but at the end of the day I would never, respectfully, disclose someone else's—

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

What was yours? How about that?

[Stephen Anderson]

It was $220,000.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

At fifty-fifty, is it safe to assume his was the same?

[Stephen Anderson]

Yes.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Okay. Now, with that being said, you're in a situation.... You'll note that Mr. Boissonnault, at committee, actually testified that he wasn't really starting a new business but was resuming another business he'd had for 15 years prior, which is, to my understanding, in conflict with a recent Le Devoir article that stated he was in journalism—but that's probably for another conversation.

You brought the operational expertise of import-export, so you—

[Stephen Anderson]

I hadn't been in the export but was [Inaudible—Editor]—

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

—would have dealt with wire transfers, shipping and receiving and all of that stuff. Is that correct?

[Stephen Anderson]

That's correct.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

However, in the text messages—let's set aside what the person's name is—you seem to be reporting to somebody. You seem to be needing the direction from somebody who is ultimately making decisions. Who at that time would have been making decisions in your company?