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
I checked the value of the land with my accountant. We have made a lot of investments.
Don't forget that we are located in a commercial zone, not an agricultural zone. All of the land in southern Quebec has been zoned agricultural. You can't build where you want. We have invested a lot in our land. We do not have municipal water and sewer services.
We had to compare what we were being offered and what it had cost us.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
You say that it is confidential and we must not know the information. What is so confidential? An hour before the meeting, the government published somewhat more detailed information. We know that it involves $28 million for your site.
What are you afraid of us knowing? In your presentation, you said you did not want us to ask you for it. Why?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
I have nothing to hide. The people came knocking on my door; I did not solicit anyone.
When we signed the contracts, the government told us that this information was confidential for reasons of immigration and security, customs or national, I don't know.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
So it was the government that asked you not to talk and to respect a certain degree of confidentiality, because it does not want it known. You did not request anything yourself.
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
That is correct. As landlords, we do not advertise our prices. Personally, I am a businessman. We do business with other companies. When we sign contracts, we do not disclose them to the person next door.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Right.
The problem here is that it is public funds being used to pay. That is why we are kind of insisting on this point. The advantage of doing business with the government is that it pays well. The disadvantage is that we ask questions.
Earlier, you said you had no relationships with federal politicians, but you contributed to the campaign fund of the member for Lacolle.
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
It was the member for Châteauguay.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Yes, the member for Châteauguay—Lacolle, Ms. Shanahan.
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Guay, for joining us today.
Mr. Guay, how long have you owned the land at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
We've owned the land for several years. My father was living on a small part of the farm.
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
Excellent. I'll just lead off from there, if I may.
I understand it's been in the family and that you've lived there for a long time. Who actually lives at Roxham Road in terms of the households that are there?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
From what I now, there are individual families who live at different houses along that road.
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
Would they be able to accommodate or deal with 100 asylum seekers a day going past their doors?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
Could you reframe that question, please?
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
Would they be able to handle or be happy about it, or does it disrupt their lives, to have 100 asylum seekers or more go past their doors every day?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
I presume it does. I haven't spoken to any of them. We know they're not happy about it. They're very disappointed to see that there's traffic and buses. The valuation of their property is probably not maintained as what it was before.
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
It would be fair to say that at Roxham Road itself, it's disruptive to the local residents.
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
Your area at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle is at a distance of about five kilometres from the border. Is that correct?
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
As mentioned previously, CBSA and IRCC and border security do have an obligation under the safe third country agreement to assist asylum seekers when they cross the border. We're not allowed to turn them away, and they need a place to go.
What's the weather like in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle around now and through the winter?
President, Importations Guay Ltd., As an Individual
Now the weather is the same as it is in Montreal, except that we probably have more snow in our area in the wintertime and it can get very cold, like -10° Celsius with the wind.
