Evidence of meeting #50 for Public Accounts in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was george.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Ms. Burton, do you think you were a suspect in a criminal investigation?
4:45 p.m.
Former Director General of Human Resources, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, As an Individual
Do I think I was a suspect?
4:45 p.m.
Former Director General of Human Resources, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, As an Individual
No.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Do you think you were a person of interest? Let me put it that way.
4:45 p.m.
Former Director General of Human Resources, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, As an Individual
I've read that in the transcript, but that is the first I saw of that.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
4:45 p.m.
S/Sgt Mike Frizzell
First off, I just want to set the record straight here, since credibility is such a huge issue here. I just went back through my notebook. Before I came here today—earlier in the week—I asked for documents from the investigation so that I could refresh my memory. I was denied those, but I do have my notebook.
The last person I interviewed who was an employee of these folks here was interviewed just over three weeks before this panicked set of phone calls to get rid of me. That person was a middle-aged man whom I distinctly remember not running, yelling and screaming, from the interview room.
The last person I interviewed before that from the HR shop was interviewed months before that, because I had turned my attention to contractors. So I would really like to know who these people are who have made these allegations. I would also like to know, Ms. George being a police officer, why there wasn't an investigation and why we didn't get both sides of the story there.
As far as “person of interest” goes, it's semantics. Ms. Burton was part of the insurance committee; she led that meeting that ended up with a discrepancy between people who were there. The minutes say that the money was authorized; the people who were there who I spoke to said that didn't happen at all. So she most definitely would have been spoken to, had there ever been an investigation.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Frizzell, in your tape recording that you played into our record, you stated that over half a million dollars had been improperly taken out of the rank and file's insurance fund. Who is the person who gave that order?
4:45 p.m.
S/Sgt Mike Frizzell
I believe it was Ms. George.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
I'd like to table a document. It's dated March 16, 2005, three months after Mr. Lewis requested that a criminal investigation begin. It's referenced in the previous document. It's a letter from Deputy Commissioner Barb George to Peter Foley, regional director, group marketing, Great-West Life Assurance Company. It'll be on the record so that people can read the full text.
It references an amount of $540,327.36. There's direction here to Mr. Foley for it to be charged to the insurance plans: “We would appreciate this refund no later than March 25, 2005 so that we can adjust our books for the fiscal year end, March 31, 2005.”
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
Okay, then. You're going to table that, and it will be translated and circulated to all the members forthwith.
Mr. Poilievre, you have eight minutes.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Ms. George, are you saying the first time you learned of the reason for Mr. Frizzell's removal from the investigation was in this e-mail that you received just a couple of months ago; that before that, you had no idea why he was removed?
4:50 p.m.
D/Commr Barbara George
When I got the call talking about his interviewing techniques, I had to—
4:50 p.m.
D/Commr Barbara George
I need to put it in context for you.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Before we start, I'm going to be very clear: I'm not going to tolerate any ragging of the puck.
4:50 p.m.
D/Commr Barbara George
I'm sorry?
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
I'm not going to tolerate any ragging of the puck here. I have a very clear question. Was February 25, 2007, really the first time you learned of the reason for Mr. Frizzell's dismissal?
It is very simple: either you knew before, or you did not know before.
4:50 p.m.
D/Commr Barbara George
I had known that they had had difficulty with him, that there was difficulty with him. That was very nebulous.
4:50 p.m.
D/Commr Barbara George
That would have been when Doug Lang sent me—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
D/Commr Barbara George
I don't have that date. I don't have any of my records. It was at the same time he sent me that memorandum.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative