Evidence of meeting #39 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was land.
A recording is available from Parliament.
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
Well, some of the leases are for one year. Some are renewed month to month. Some are renewed for six months, and some are renewed for one year. Lately—
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
In general terms, the spirit of the leases is that they are on an as-needed basis.
Liberal
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Thank you for being here, Mr. Guay.
I agree with you: donating to a political party is not a crime, but you do some diversity in your allegiances.
One of my colleagues mentioned that the hotel rooms have remained empty for a long period. Is that correct?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
No. I am going to correct you. The hotel has been occupied for a majority of the time. The Border Services Agency sent asylum seekers to the hotel when it opened. That was done in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and with health services.
A lot of asylum seekers stayed in the hotel for several weeks, particularly in quarantine during the pandemic. In fact, some had contracted COVID‑19. Some were vaccinated while others were not.
At present, the hotel has an occupancy rate of 75% to 80%. All its facilities, whether it be the restaurant, the bar or the conference room, are 100% occupied by asylum seekers. It has even become a bus terminal.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
So there has not been a moment when the hotel was flat out empty.
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
There may have been a week or two when customs was closed. I don't know whether asylum seekers got lost, but I know there were still people from time to time.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
So during the COVID‑19 pandemic, your hotel was not empty or almost empty.
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
No, there were always people.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Right.
Earlier, you talked about confidential agreements. Since you are a businessman dealing in real estate, you know that you don't state all the terms publicly when you sign a lease. That goes without saying.
In this case, however, was it the government that asked that the contracts be confidential, beyond what you would do in a real estate deal?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
As a businessman, I have signed contracts with people from Public Works and Government Services Canada who told us that the rates were confidential. In the negotiations, I had the impression that everything was confidential.
If the government wants to disclose these figures, it can do so.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Are you currently negotiating contracts other than the nine we talked about earlier?
October 17th, 2022 / 5:10 p.m.
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
No. Two contracts were signed recently for two buildings, 337 and 339. The rents started being paid in July for a period of five years. There is absolutely nothing...
in the works right now.
It is status quo at present.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Perfect. Is it status quo because there is a lot of talk about it in the media or is this a normal phase from a business perspective?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
It is a normal phase. If the newspapers want to talk about it, that is their prerogative.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Absolutely.
To summarize, the agreements have been kept confidential at the government's request. You, yourself, however, have no objection to them being made public.
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
Correct. Personally, I have nothing to hide.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Thank you.
We will ask the government what we can do in that eventuality.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Conservative
NDP
Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Thank you very much.
I want to welcome Mr. Guay here.
I know that reports in the media probably weren't welcome on your behalf, just in terms of the way things were framed. Myself, I'm trying to get to the bottom of the facts in this particular situation. I recognize that you may have some support with you in terms of what you can and can't say pertaining to the matters around your property.
I'm going to ask a couple of general questions, and then I'm going to allow you to reflect on some of the other lines of questions that have come your way and that maybe with more time you would have answered more fully.
First, could you describe, to the best of your ability, using your own words, what the facilities would be like on your commercial properties that are housing these migrants?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
Well, okay, the facilities.... If we come to the beginning, CBSA rented two suites from my hotel in the beginning. Then they rented our conference room for a very short period of time, 10 days. In 2018, they rented the hotel—all our rooms—and our accommodations are excellent. At the hotel, we had to have a sprinkler system. We had to have a generator. We treat our own water sewage system, and we have our own water treatment plant, so all the asylum seekers were very well received at our hotel, and we also prepared meals for them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We think that we did a good job.
