Foreign Affairs Committee on April 15th, 2010

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

I want to know, for example, how much Mr. Gauthier was paid during the period when he was both chair and member of the board of directors.

[Gérard Latulippe]

I have various pieces of information on the contracts. I don't have them all because I have just taken up my position, but I can give you some. For example, if you wish, I can give you some information on Mr. Gauthier's trip to China. That came out yesterday or the day before.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Yes?

[Gérard Latulippe]

Mr. Gauthier went to China. He was head of the delegation and replaced the president. I asked some questions. The fees he requested are those normally requested by people who belong to other boards of directors in Canada. What he billed covered seven travel days, three preparation days and one day for the report and briefing. This is customary procedure in the case of members of boards of directors. I made that check. I don't have the total amount that he was paid, but I'll be pleased to submit that information to the committee in the next few days. The fact remains that I have just taken up my position. I only started gathering this information yesterday.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you. That's all the time we have.

I'm going to move to Madame Lalonde, please.

You have seven minutes.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, Mr. Latulippe.

When you came back from Haiti, you said you could see no other way than to put Haiti under trusteeship. That's a surprising comment from someone who was subsequently appointed president of Rights and Democracy. One wonders how you'll be able to present yourself as someone who provides assistance for the democratic development of countries. Do you stand by that statement?

[Gérard Latulippe]

Madame, the interpretation made of my statement appeared on L'actualité's website.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

It's also in Le Devoir.

[Gérard Latulippe]

I came back from Haiti and I made a lot of statements. I also worked in Haiti and I'm going to explain the briefings that I gave. I've always maintained the same—

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

The question I'm asking you is simple. Do you stand by that statement?

[Gérard Latulippe]

I have always held the same position, Madame.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

So you stand by that statement.

[Gérard Latulippe]

No, I have always held the same position. We need a new governance model in order to be able to rebuild that country. This new—

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Is it—

[Gérard Latulippe]

Let me finish.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

You said we need a new governance model. I understood.

[Gérard Latulippe]

Yes, but let me finish. I have always said what the new governance model should entail. I said that the Government of Haiti was fragile and needed the international community to take part in that reconstruction. I also said that we had to expand it as much as possible so that all the country's bone and sinew were involved.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

But—

[Gérard Latulippe]

Let me finish, because I think that—

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Pardon me, but I understood very clearly what you meant. I want to know whether you changed that position after seeing that the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, your employer at the time, was so displeased that the president of the NDI wrote a letter to President Préval to apologize for what you said. I have to read it in English because the letter is in English. I quote:

To be certain, the views attributed to Mr. Latulippe and expressed in this article in no way represents the opinions of NDI. We ask that you accept the Institute's and Mr. Latulippe's regrets for the misimpressions left by this unfortunate article.

[Gérard Latulippe]

You forgot to say that he also wrote that my remarks had been distorted because—

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

He said it was probably because you were

in a “highly emotional context”.

I think it's worthwhile to read the letter.

[Gérard Latulippe]

Absolutely, but I was asked to give briefings to the National Security Council for NDI on the issue of governance in the context of the reconstruction.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Well, I only have seven minutes and we've already taken a number—

[Gérard Latulippe]

Yes, but you're not letting me say that I went from Hillary Clinton's office to the American think tanks, to the Congressional and Senate committees, to the National Security Council—