Thank you, Mr. Dubeau.
Good morning, Mr. Chair, and members of the committee.
I am here today to talk about my involvement and to clarify the communications between the minister's chief of staff and myself concerning the relocation of the consul general's official residence in New York.
For information, I was the chief of staff to the deputy minister of foreign affairs from September 2022 to August 2024. My role as chief of staff was to ensure that the deputy minister had the necessary information for performing his duties, which meant facilitating access in a timely manner to the relevant departmental expertise and information.
In this role, I also oversaw the flow of communications between the department and the minister's office by relaying requests for information to the experts in the department.
My engagement on this issue before the committee today centres on two conversations with the minister's chief of staff, first on June 14, 2024, and second, on July 25, 2024.
On June 14, the minister's chief of staff requested information on the rationale for the department's decision to sell the official residence in New York and to confirm whether the consul general was aware of that plan. On July 25, the minister's chief of staff requested information that all rules and procedures had been followed by the department and to understand the consul general's involvement in that purchase.
In both instances, these requests were to receive information about a process that had already been approved at the departmental level. I relayed these two requests of the chief of staff to the associate deputy minister of foreign affairs, who was the lead person on corporate files in the team. She subsequently engaged with departmental experts and provided a response. That correspondence has been provided to the committee.
I would like to clearly state that at no point did I receive or give instruction to alter any correspondence gathered.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I am available to answer any questions that members of the committee may have.