Thank you, Madam Chair.
You further stated that your wife Sharon and you became good friends with the Trudeaus, that your relationship with Pierre Trudeau went back to “children's days” when the families would get together to ski at Mont Tremblant. You stated that the three Trudeau boys were the same age as your five daughters, and that you became a “ski party” at Mont Tremblant.
You stated that your children had “enormous respect” for Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He was “a wonderful father and very good with children”, who at this point were teenagers, and he would lead them into discussions such as about democracies in the world.
In 2017, sir, you interviewed with Paul Wells. You talked about knowing Justin Trudeau since he was six years old, as both families shared adjacent cottages in the Laurentians.
In 2017, sir, the Prime Minister paid tribute to you, calling you “a family friend” and “a friend of [his] father”. He ended his comments by saying to both you and your wife, “Thank you, my friends.” You privately or publicly did not object to the assessment of your friendship with Justin Trudeau.
Let's fast-forward to your press conference of May 23. You are on record stating the following basic facts of your so-called friendship with Justin Trudeau. These are your words, sir: that when your children were ages seven to 12, you had a condo at the foot of Mont Tremblant. Pierre Elliott Trudeau had a country home 50 kilometres away. On five occasions over seven years, he and his three kids came and parked their car in the lot. On one occasion, you drove the kids back to their mother's house. You knew Justin Trudeau as a student at McGill. You had no contact with Justin Trudeau until he was an elected MP, and later, as Prime Minister.
The point is, sir, that you said you had no contact with Justin Trudeau for 40 years, not as a friend. You said those are the facts. Later that day, you interviewed with CTV anchor, Omar Sachedina, and stated that your relationship with Justin Trudeau was “an unfortunate allegation”. You largely confirmed the same details as at your press conference, but changed the frequency of ski trips to “five occasions, over two or three years” as opposed to over seven years.
Mr. Johnston, what we have before this committee are two completely different descriptions of your relationship with Justin Trudeau. Those two different descriptions cannot be accurate at the same time.
My question is simple and direct, Mr. Johnston. Were you telling Canadians the truth on May 23 or back in 2016?