Public Accounts committee  Yes, sir. As a matter of fact, I was on a training process before going to Africa, the Ivory Coast. I came back to my office, and Sergeant Joyal advised me that Mr. Gauvin had been involved in the file. So I decided to write an e-mail to the commissioner, because it was his expense account.

Public Accounts committee  I would say Mr. Gauvin.

Public Accounts committee  It was reported in my report.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, he had received gifts from three different companies. One was SAP, the other one was 3M, and the third one I can't remember. He also had lied during the investigation.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, sir.

Public Accounts committee  The situation was similar to this situation here. It was following cases where management refused to act on complaints of fraud and gifts and that type of thing. The OPP did the investigation. I did the internal investigation. At the end of the internal investigation, members of the RCMP had breached the code of conduct—

Public Accounts committee  Could you repeat your question, please?

Public Accounts committee  No, sir.

Public Accounts committee  The answer is, basically, I asked Mr. Gauvin if one of the reasons he didn't act on the report that he received from Surintendent Lincourt at the time was that he was new to the RCMP and that he was too busy to act on the report. He said no, under no consideration, that it had nothing to do with that.

Public Accounts committee  Well, I had reviewed all of the document. It had been sent to the commissioner's office as well. I went through the document, and only one issue could have had some concern: that shot of cognac for $80. But at the time, the commissioner's office seemed comfortable with it. Maybe he had an explanation for it.

Public Accounts committee  My name is Christian Picard. I have been a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since 1972. I have nearly 34 years of service. From April 2000 to May 2005, I was the RCMP access to information coordinator. From May 2005 to May 2006, I was the Chief of Staff in the Ivory Coast.

Public Accounts committee  I, Christian Picard, do swear that the evidence I shall give on this examination shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.