Mr. Speaker, the contract was signed on October 7 and the member raises his concern about this diplomatic problem we might have.
If anything, the message was sent out loud and clear by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport when this contract was cancelled. The message was if you want to do business with the Government of Canada then you have to do it above board in a responsible and reasonable way and it ought to contemplate the public interest.
In this particular case Mr. Nixon made it abundantly clear that there were a lot of shady aspects to this particular deal. There were a lot of backroom negotiations and much manipulation. There were a lot of payoffs. Lobbyists were selling access. They were arranging meetings for very significant fees.
The hon. member talks about this particular company that might feel particularly aggrieved. One wonders whether it hired one of the lobbying firms involved. Surely as responsible business people they knew what was going on.
In any event would the member not agree their claim is not for out of pocket expenses but for lost profits? Any out of pocket expenses they may have incurred could only have taken place after the signing of the actual contract on October 7. After that of course they knew on October 25 the government would change.
Again would the hon. member not agree that any company that in any way shape or form was involved with this contract, or hoped to gain as a result of this contract knew very well that the contract would be cancelled even before it was signed? Therefore why would it expend one red cent when the writing was already on the wall?