Government Operations Committee on Feb. 28th, 2008

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Is that what someone told you?

[Frédéric Loiselle]

No. I do not see anything political in this. It was a business matter.

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Thank you.

Mr. Soudas, did you meet personally with Mr. Fortier to discuss the Rosdev Group?

[Dimitri Soudas]

No, I never discussed this matter with Minister Fortier.

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Thank you. According to the testimony presented to the committee, the PMO is satisfied that PWGSC is not suspending legal proceedings against Rosdev.

Is that correct?

[Dimitri Soudas]

Yes.

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Who is acting as legal counsel for PWGSC?

[Frédéric Loiselle]

If memory serves me well, the lawyer I spoke with was Ellen Stensholt. She heads up the department's legal services.

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

I see. I have no further questions. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Diane Marleau]

Mr. Angus.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Thank you very much.

I certainly appreciate everyone coming here today in this timely fashion, and I understand these are sensitive issues. We have to be careful because you have reputations in our community.

I just want to ask a few final wrap-up questions.

Mr. Housakos, you were quoted in the newspaper on January 31, 2008, saying that you were furious about how this came up. Yes, and you still are--and I can see that. You said, “[...] it's an inside job and that's what hurts the most”. What do you mean by that?

[Léo Housakos]

What I mean by that is when two journalists make serious allegations without putting any factual evidence on the table....

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

But that's not an inside job; that's an outside job. Who gave the journalists the information?

[Léo Housakos]

Well, their sources.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Who are their sources?

[Léo Housakos]

That's for them to divulge.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

But you say it's an inside job.

[Léo Housakos]

Look, I have my suspicions, but unlike certain individuals I'm not a journalist. I can't say hearsay things. I need proof.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

In your role as a candidate in 2000 against Michael Fortier, they asked you earlier if there was any bad blood, and you said, “Not on my part”.

[Léo Housakos]

Not on my part, no.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Do you think there would be bad blood on anyone else's part?

[Léo Housakos]

That's for anyone else to answer.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Soudas, we're just going back to this question of the PMO and your role. Now, you said I could ask it in question period and get a clear answer. I asked Mr. Van Loan, when this issue arose, and he said to me that any citizen can make a request to the Prime Minister's Office, who may then forward it to the minister involved. That's not a privilege to have a meeting. Any citizen has a right to be heard. But it wasn't forwarded to the minister; it was forwarded to you. So why is it that you've had to take this role upon yourself, and not Michael Fortier?

[Dimitri Soudas]

I inquired of the minister's office, forwarded the request to the minister's office, inquired about it, got briefed on the issue, and the matter remained before the courts.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Loiselle said they clearly understood it was a commercial matter, not a political matter, so why would the PMO be interested in a commercial matter?