Evidence of meeting #36 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was know.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
I met Mr. Sauvé—
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
—at the ceremony, yes.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Things went well at St. James Church in Montreal. Did you know at that time that he had won a contract for the north tower here?
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
Not at all.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
Not at all.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Did alarm bells ring or a red light go on? Did someone in your department inform you when the contract was withdrawn from Mr. Sauvé?
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
Absolutely not. Mr. Lemay, I didn't even know that he had won it. You seem surprised, but I wasn't at all aware that that contract had been awarded, or any others.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
So after the briefing, after you were informed about how things worked, you left that to the authorities in your department.
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
In fact, we're talking about the first briefing, which may have been in February, March or April 2006, where it was explained to me how all that was going to work. We had an update briefing approximately every two months or so.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
That's what I found interesting. So every two or three months, you had an update briefing to learn what was going on, what point matters had reached. I'm talking about the works on Parliament Hill; I'm not interested in knowing whether you did works in Restigouche. So there was an update briefing every two or three months to inform you about the works. Were you informed in one of those updates that LM Sauvé's contract was over because that contractor had not been up to scratch?
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
No.
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
No.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
One other thing interests me. Like all members here, I believe, you have attended cocktail fundraisers. In your case, that was in the constituency of Vaudreuil—Soulanges, where you were a candidate. You know who attends these fundraisers because you have a list of attendees.
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
In fact, we don't see the list beforehand; we see it afterward, as well as the donations people have made.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
So you have a list of donations and the people who attended the fundraiser.
9:25 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
Absolutely.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Do you focus on certain guests who have a business, such as Mr. Pomerleau, for example, from the Pomerleau company? Do you know what businesses the people who attend your fundraiser come from?
9:30 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
I do know that businessmen and women attended those fundraisers. A number also made donations without attending them.
9:30 a.m.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
All right. From February 6, 2006 to June 24, 2008, approximately how many fundraisers did you attend in your constituency? I'm talking about Vaudreuil—Soulanges, obviously.
9:30 a.m.
Former Minister of Public Works and Government Services, As an Individual
I would say two, perhaps three.