Thank you for your question.
I have always disclosed conflicts of interest. I even have a letter here confirming that I have complied with all the rules. This was also observed by a departmental representative. I don't really know his title, but I think he was an assistant deputy minister. He was there during all our deliberations. In addition, the common practice when I was there was to declare our conflicts of interest, actual, potential or apparent, in advance and to recuse ourselves in advance. Here I have a letter confirming that I recused myself in advance and complied with all the rules. It's available if you want to see it.
That being said, the comment about the minutes is fair. If there's one thing that all the organizations and boards that I've been a part of have in common, it's that they aren't perfect and are improving. In this instance, a certain amount of progress remains to be made. As you can understand, having left the board more than two years ago, I'm not in a position to judge the present situation. I can only speak to the period when I was there.
Here's a very specific example. I read the minutes on the weekend. They state that we are an investor in SPARK Microsystems, whereas the declaration of interest states that SPARK Microsystems could be an investment but in fact isn't one. That was incorrectly entered in the minutes.
You're entirely right on that point, sir. I agree with you.