Public Accounts committee  I felt that I had no choice—for the good of the institution, for the good of all agents of Parliament, sir. There were millions of dollars expended in this process in direct and indirect costs, probably bigger than my annual budget. There were extremely difficult staff relations for my small unit, who are extremely professional.

Public Accounts committee  It's not true. Mr. Desjardins was in fact very discontented. I spoke with the same tone and the same frankness that I speak with today. It was a small number of people. And people who have worked for me for years can attest that this is not my style, sir. In fact, I “vousvoie”; I used the vous for francophones among all of my staff.

Public Accounts committee  Maybe in the minds of people—

Public Accounts committee  It was PCO, just to be clear.

Public Accounts committee  My staff worked extremely hard to respond to the many requests made with regard to every aspect of the way the office of the commissioner operated. The institution felt it was its duty to collaborate in any way it could, and I have documentation to prove this. My staff acted professionally and managed to respond to every question.

Public Accounts committee  I did not use that word.

Public Accounts committee  If I may, madam, let me talk about the environment within the institution. I have tabled with you a detailed account of testimony from employees who worked with me for one or two years. You'll see that nobody responded to emails in the evening or on weekends. Further, the people who complained only worked for my office for a few weeks or a few months.

Public Accounts committee  First of all, employees were not being investigated. Upon the recommendation of my audit committee, a risk assessment was done, as is done everywhere. This includes a physical analysis, and I must add that the last safety officer was very concerned about breaches of confidentiality.

Public Accounts committee  First of all, I absolutely refute having being inappropriate or having inappropriate conduct with any of my employees. In fact, in her report, the Auditor General gives no indication, no explanation. Were there some discontented employees because they didn't get a promotion, or because even before they knew me they didn't want to support me?

Public Accounts committee  There's no forum, unless the committee...and that is why I am extremely grateful to be here today. I really am. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for affording me the opportunity. I did not have the resources. I did not have the venue. The jurisdiction of the Auditor General is extremely broad, and I thought that throughout the process we, collectively and individually--and I'm talking about every member of my staff--had answered every aspect openly.

Public Accounts committee  There were several elements—

Public Accounts committee  I do not recall having said that.

Public Accounts committee  Allow me to be more specific. Documents were brought to my personal residence late one evening, despite the fact that I was always available at my office. I apologize for not speaking clearly. Indeed, we often received documents on Fridays, at all hours of the day. The requests were very demanding.

Public Accounts committee  Okay. I think you're referring to an exchange in February 2010.

Public Accounts committee  You ask the Prime Minister. I explained my specific circumstances and why I had to accept.