Thank you, Mr. Chair.
On Thursday, November 18, I received by e-mail, along with all members and their staff of the finance committee, a first draft of a report of the finance committee prepared by committee staff. When I received the report that morning, I did not read it, but I did do two things. One, I printed a copy for Mrs. Block and placed it in a binder for her to review. And two, I e-mailed the report to some friends of mine whose identities have since been made public.
The next day, Friday, November 19, I received a call at home at approximately 7 a.m. from Mrs. Block. She said she had heard that I had distributed the document to someone who was not with the committee and therefore not entitled to have it. I immediately admitted my mistake. Mrs. Block then indicated that as of that moment I was terminated from her office staff.
I know that my action was wrong. The moment I disclosed the document constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part, for which I am solely and completely responsible.
A question that might be asked today is why, what benefit was in your actions? The people I sent the document to were friends. I was not expecting anything in return, nor was I promised anything. No one asked me for the document. I did not photocopy the draft. I did not use BlackBerry PIN technology to forward the report. I did not fax the report. I did not discuss the content of the report with anyone over the phone or in person.
I hope from these clear and unequivocal statements that you will conclude that there was no motive other than trying to look important to some friends.
I wish to take this time to apologize to all members of the House for my action, especially members of the finance committee. I know my action, however spontaneous and quick that it was, was wrong.
I also want to publicly apologize to my family, including my wife, my mother, and my extended family, for the hurt that my lapse has caused them, as well as thank them for their support. I can only hope that they'll forgive me.
I would also like to apologize to the members of this committee. I know that this matter is extremely serious and that my action is taking up the valuable time of this committee, which might be spent on other more important topics.
I want to apologize to Mrs. Block. I did not forward the document at her request. She had no knowledge of my actions and is a member of Parliament with impeccable morals and ethics. She has always strived to be above reproach and to me embodies all the qualities Canadians should expect of their members of Parliament.
I finally must apologize to the individuals to whom I sent the document. I acted alone, without solicitation or provocation from the individuals in question, and my actions have since brought an incredible amount of undue stress and problems upon them. I'm truly sorry that my action alone could cause this.
In conclusion, I take complete responsibility for this, as I alone made the mistake of releasing the document. There was no one else involved.
Mr. Chair, I would also like to add that I sent a written apology to Mr. Rajotte, the chair of the finance committee. I asked him to share a copy of my letter to the entire committee.
I stand ready to answer your questions today. Thank you for the opportunity.
