Government Operations committee  But to the bureaucrats' credit, they didn't take this thing seriously.

Government Operations committee  I mean, they reviewed it.

Government Operations committee  But at the end of the day he got a no; I mean, he may have gotten a polite no, but he got a no.

Government Operations committee  For additional information from whom?

Government Operations committee  Absolutely not.

Government Operations committee  My understanding at the time, which was reflected in the document I developed--it was a cut and paste, and we were seeking funding from a number of sources--was that it was a request for information about whether or not this new program covered any aspects of the construction of photovoltaic solar projects.

Government Operations committee  The piece of testimony that struck me when they were here was that they don't have any money, so I don't think there's any legal recourse. Just to go back, was there an application for that program like the one for this program? I don't know the answer to that, but if our company was being presented as an applicant, we would have to sign something.

Government Operations committee  At the time it was submitted, is the only recollection I have. When it came out in the media.... It was presented as an application?

Government Operations committee  Well, to be fair, I didn't look. The thing is, I didn't know the program existed, but my meeting took place on June 16, so that was about two weeks after it was announced. I did a search after the fact and I think it was announced up north at the end of May. Subsequently, I didn't bother going and looking, because in my view an infrastructure program historically is one-third, one-third, and one-third, and they may introduce a private sector component.

Government Operations committee  Absolutely none.

Government Operations committee  I've never met him. I've never laid eyes on him.

Government Operations committee  None whatsoever.

Government Operations committee  Absolutely not, from our perspective. And just to add to that, I know my way around Ottawa too. I'm not going to pay somebody to fill out an application, and if I'm going to apply for funding, it's not going to be a page and a half. The other thing I should point out is at that time their company was pitching projects in Bulgaria.

Government Operations committee  Well, the Lobbying Act offences are Criminal Code offences, so I'm not sure what value my speculation has. We had no contact with Mr. Jaffer in this regard. My contact with Mr. Glémaud involved one lunch he was at with a number of other people, and I was cc'd on two e-mails. What he did, and I guess that's the missing piece here that you're going to have to sort out, would all come down to what kind of dialogue went on between him and the public office holders or the designated public office holders.

Government Operations committee  If I could just add something, I watched Mr. Glémaud's testimony, and it was his contention that he was simply asking for information. If you look at the document Industry Canada prepared, in the second paragraph, I think, they make a statement as to whether these projects would qualify.