Evidence of meeting #62 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 contract.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
As a qualified expert consultant, would you say going to only one source in order to find information for a contract for which the Crown would be liable for years would be considered a fulsome investigation?
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
For the fees you charged, was there no room for you to be able to give intellectual input on what a fulsome investigation would be?
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
I believe I was directed by my supervisor to limit the field, for whatever reason.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Who was the supervisor who told you to limit the field of investigation?
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
It was Mr. Roy. Thank you.
Would you consider it a conflict of interest in that you wrote the business case to justify the outsourcing of the administration of the pension fund and later you and your wife profited from that outsourcing?
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
No, I merely did a business case under the direction of my supervisor.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
You're suggesting that because Mr. Roy had limited the criteria for the business case, it removed any conflict regarding your bidding for the same business case that you participated in developing?
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
You're saying that because your supervisor, Mr. Roy, limited the criteria of your investigation, it would remove any kind of liability for you to be in a conflict when you bid on the same criteria you were involved in developing.
4:15 p.m.
As an Individual
I'm directed by my supervisor as to what work I do, what's included, and what's not included.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Maybe you misunderstood my question. You helped develop the criteria for a contract that you subsequently bid on. Do you in any way feel there is some kind of conflict of interest?
4:20 p.m.
As an Individual
No, it's a separate piece of work. Once that piece of work is done, you move on.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Would you not have had specialized information that another consultant wouldn't have had, considering you were on the inside developing that case?
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Would you not have had specialized information that another consultant would not have access to, considering you were part and parcel of developing the business case?
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
On point of order, Mr. Chair, this witness is clearly running the clock down. He has been asked a series of very straightforward questions. He asks to have them repeated regularly, and then he doesn't answer them.
I would ask that it not come off Mr. Sweet's time, because it's clearly a delay tactic by the witness.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
Well, Mr. Casey, I've been listening to the questions and I've been listening to the answers. To me, the questions appear to be very clear, but you are not providing what I consider to be fulsome answers to this committee. I would urge you to listen to the questions and answer the questions.
I'd ask Mr. Sweet to move on.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Maybe I'll try another question for Mr. Casey.
Do you agree, as stated in the Ottawa police investigator's summary, with Anthony Koziol's opinion that a full analysis was not conducted during the writing of the business case and that costs associated with outsourcing were obtained only from Morneau Sobeco?
4:20 p.m.
As an Individual
Again, we had internal costs for the RCMP, for an inside solution. We had Great-West Life. Unfortunately they couldn't do it for five years, so they weren't a viable option. Number three, we had Morneau Sobeco. So we had three options.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Could you tell the committee how much you were paid for this contract?