Public Safety Committee on June 17th, 2008

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

In other words, it's our understanding that they contacted the government, and then the government contacted them to say what to do with the documents--to give instruction, in other words.

[Margaret Bloodworth]

My understanding is that it was through Mr. Bernier's office, but I'd qualify that by saying I don't know that. That's part of the review.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Thank you.

Do you know how the documents were retrieved from Madame Couillard's lawyer?

[Margaret Bloodworth]

No.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Do you know to whom in the Government of Canada the documents were returned? Who actually received them on behalf of the government? They were the property of the government, so I assume somebody in the government had to receive them.

[Margaret Bloodworth]

No, I don't. I know that the Department of Foreign Affairs got them some time during the Monday afternoon as well, but I don't know about before that.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Thank you.

On what date and at what time were these classified documents finally back in the possession of the Government of Canada? I think you've already answered that. You're saying some time Monday afternoon the Department of Foreign Affairs said they had them.

Now, did you watch the French television interview with Madame Couillard on Sunday night?

[Margaret Bloodworth]

No.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

So no alarm bells would have gone off about that?

[Margaret Bloodworth]

I didn't watch it, but I thought, actually, it was Monday night. I may be wrong on that.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

I'm not sure either. I thought it was Sunday night.

[Margaret Bloodworth]

The only reason I'm saying that is that I thought it was the same evening that the ministerial change actually took place, but I stand to be corrected.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Okay.

[Margaret Bloodworth]

That was Monday night; that's why I said that.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Yes.

Considering these were NATO documents and they were briefing papers for a meeting that was yet to come, do you know of any mitigation efforts that have gone on with regard to our NATO partners in case our reputation as a country capable of securing documents is tarnished now? Did any envoys go to the capitals of Europe or did any envoys go to NATO headquarters, or was it just a phone call to NATO?

[Margaret Bloodworth]

First, let me make a correction to the first part of your question. They were not NATO documents; they were our documents.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Yes, but in preparation--

[Margaret Bloodworth]

They were about the NATO summit, which, by the time this happened, had already happened. The NATO summit was in early April.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Yes, I know.

[Margaret Bloodworth]

Those two points being corrected, as I understand it, there was a phone call made to NATO and a subsequent letter to NATO. There was a check made to see if there was any information in there that had come from one of our allies, that was their information, and the first cut--and I premise it by saying the review will assess that more thoroughly--was that, no, there was not. So there were not formal representations made to other capitals beyond NATO.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Thank you.

Now, you said yours is not an investigative agency and you don't do investigations. I understand that. In your capacity as national security adviser, do you ever ask for an investigation to be done of something that may be worrying you as the main adviser to the Prime Minister? Do you ever ask for an investigation, have you ever done so, and did you do so in this case?

[Margaret Bloodworth]

We would do it in relation to cabinet documents. If there were cabinet documents missing or something, usually that's an investigation that a department would do, but I could in that case.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

But you didn't ask for one this time?

[Margaret Bloodworth]

On the cabinet documents? There was no reason to do that.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

So you're really concerned only with cabinet documents?