Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for inviting me here today.
I'd like to begin by providing some context. March 2020 was not a business-as-usual time. It was the onset of a global pandemic. It was, by any account, an extraordinary time. The deputy minister who spoke on this matter on Tuesday referred to the internal ministry operations at the time as “chaotic” and said that everyone who was involved was “inordinately busy”. Those were his words.
Minister Mary Ng was one a few ministers who were tasked with a major communications role at this time. Her mandate as the minister for small business meant that she had several serious announcements to make, and there was an intense urgency to get that information out as widely and expeditiously as possible. That was the catalyst for engaging our agency for professional communication support.
My friendship with Mary grew out of a professional relationship. We worked together, I in a communication role and she as a policy adviser. Because we knew each other first and primarily in these roles, she has from time to time sought my communications advice, and I have been happy to provide it. Giving counsel over the phone or over coffee in an ad hoc way is not the same as being asked for the requirements that the minister's office had in March 2020. The effort to undertake was ultimately to develop a communications plan that included media training, the production of social and digital media assets, a seven-minute video with cut-downs, media list development, media outreach, content calendar, coordination of media, podcasts and about six Instagram Lives.
To be very frank, when it became clear that Mary and her office needed more than just some advice, my partner and I initially did not want to take on the work, and, contrary to assertions that have been made, we didn't need it. To give you perspective, this work accounted for less than one half of one per cent of our annual revenue in 2020. It also came at a time when we were pressed internally with competing client needs and would be required to pull staff off of work to get the job done in a compressed timeline.
The reason we ultimately decided to do it was that, on reflection, we felt that it was the right thing to do. As small business owners ourselves, we knew how clearly frustrating it was to not be able to quickly find information and supports that businesses were desperate to access at that time.
The question will inevitably be raised as to why our office didn't call another firm to supplement the departmental work. I think, when you're faced with a crisis like none of us had ever seen, your natural instinct is to work with someone you know and respect, someone you trust and someone you believe will get the job done right the first time, which is what we did, on time and on budget.
In total, we produced 103 hours of work, including 56 products worked on by five people over 17 days. This represented extremely good value for dollar. It was excellent by any standard, and we are proud of the good work we delivered.
I think it's also important to note that we have complied with all of our obligations at every step of the way, as we always do. As you know, this matter has already been extensively reviewed by the Ethics Commissioner, who did not find fault with the work or the need for the work. The issue is centred exclusively on recusal.
The minister, in my opinion, made an unintended procedural mistake in failing to recuse herself, which she has acknowledged, and she has taken steps to ensure that it is not repeated.
Finally, I will take the liberty to say this. Mary is one of the most principled and hard-working public servants I have ever met or worked with. While her error was procedural in nature, I believe that it came with the highest of intentions: to do right by Canadian small business during an unprecedented time.
I'm happy to take your questions.
