Thank you, Mr. Chair.
One thing that I remember vividly from Mr. Clark's previous testimony at the mighty OGGO was just how adamant he was, to the point of literally raising his voice and turning red in colour in face, that from start to finish he had no influence whatsoever in the acquisition of the condominium on Billionaires' Row.
I'm going to be speaking on behalf of Mrs. Kusie, Mr. Barrett and myself. I believe Mrs. Block was also in attendance. All four of us didn't believe one word that he was saying. This was well before we received any evidence from Politico. All of us accused him of lying, to which he took great offence.
Here we are some several months removed and the political instincts of the Conservative members here in OGGO were 100% validated. Notwithstanding that the old condominium on Park Avenue was quite suitable for over 20 consuls general, two months within the mandate of Tom Clark, which just happens to coincide with records that this committee has received and with a cozy meeting that Tom Clark had with Justin Trudeau in Manhattan, where both of them were boasting, smiling and laughing in the back of a limousine driving down one of the major thoroughfares of Manhattan, we learn now that Tom Clark is a confirmed liar.
I know, Mr. Sousa, you find it rather remarkable to hear me now saying that, but it's interesting that when this story broke, which I believe was yesterday, from Politico, there was such an eerie silence from the Liberal government. There was nothing by way of any sort of clarifying statement from the PMO. There was no clarifying statement from Justin Trudeau and nothing from Tom Clark. There was just eerie silence, as if it was a child getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
That's what I equate this to because now we know that within two months of Tom Clark's arrival in New York, he notified Global Affairs. We don't know how that notification took place, whether it was a phone call, an email, or if it was relayed via Justin Trudeau. Who knows? We'll eventually find all of that out, but it certainly requires a deeper examination.
He notified that it was “not suitable” for hosting or for living, and required immediate replacement because obviously, a multi-decades-old condominium didn't suit the particular lavish lifestyle of Tom Clark. To feed that hubris element of Tom Clark, whose ego is as large as all the oceans combined—