Evidence of meeting #44 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was organization.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Johanne Deschamps Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
We can ask for the consent of the other members so that we can continue.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Dean Allison
Okay, we'll come back over here for one question, and then we'll wrap it up. Okay?
Go ahead, Mr. Dorion.
Bloc
Jean Dorion Bloc Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Mr. Latulippe, I have in front of me the document that you provided us with. By the way, your name appears nowhere on it. We have to guess that it is yours. In a number of places, someone says that they did this, that or the other, but nowhere does it specify who wrote the document. It is a technicality, but I am just pointing it out to you. I have the English version of the document in front of me. You end the introduction by saying that you are happy to close an unfortunate chapter in your history and you undertake to the Standing Committee on External Affairs and International Development to move resolutely into the future.
How can you be happy? Do you really believe that the unfortunate chapter is closed? We around this table clearly see that the chapter is not closed. Mr. Beauregard's widow has written to the minister asking for the injustice to her husband to be put right. People who contributed to that injustice are still on the board of directors and the government is about to reappoint two of them.
I would like to ask you very candidly how you can be happy under those circumstances. As I said, you represent an organization called “Rights and Democracy”; but Mr. Beauregard's basic democratic rights have been violated. Yet you refuse to correct the injustice done by the board of directors whose president you are.
President, Rights and Democracy
I have closed the SIRCO file. I am the one who said enough is enough, that we are going to put a stop to investigations and reports. I took a stand on that and so I put my job on the line. SIRCO is over and done with. The board of directors voted unanimously for that. The board's resolution is clear. For the people affected, the due diligence report closes the door on the events of the past. We could still be talking about it centuries from now, but none of us wants that. Canada needs to be playing a role through an organization like ours. It is doing so, as are our employees. You have a role to play in that too.
Bloc
Jean Dorion Bloc Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Apparently, you have excellent employees and they have protested en masse about the injustice done to their president. Mr. Latulippe, I find your comments to be surreal.
Thank you.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Dean Allison
Thank you, Mr. Dorion.
Thank you, Mr. Latulippe, for coming today.
We're going to wrap it up now. We have a committee meeting on Monday to discuss some future business, and I believe Mr. Braun is scheduled to come next Wednesday.
Thank you.
The meeting is adjourned.
