Government Operations committee  Thank you for that. I did not threaten to blame him. I was here on October 24. I had an opportunity to do so, with all the allegations around his name, and I still did not.

Government Operations committee  I had a conversation with Mr. MacDonald. I reached out to him. There's evidence of this. I reached out and asked him for facts and data, because he was there at the time. I had the conversation. The point of the conversation was to help us understand who invited GC Strategies into ArriveCAN the first time.

Government Operations committee  I do not recall anything from that perspective, either from the minister's office or from the minister. I was not briefing the minister on this topic.

Government Operations committee  I do not recall getting any direction on any of these matters. This would be in terms of technical direction. This would not be something that a deputy minister would normally get involved in.

Government Operations committee  Deloitte can provide that, and to my knowledge, in my experience with them in terms of the system they integrate, it's major projects, major deliveries—hundreds of millions of dollars. To my knowledge I do believe that's a service they offer, but that is not what they bring in terms of value.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. If memory serves me, Mr. MacDonald found a company, Botler AI, that was very interesting. I trusted the company because I was quite familiar with what they had to offer in terms of technology and artificial intelligence. I agreed to meet with their representatives.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. I did not informMr. Mendicino of that. As I told you, last year, there was no allegation—

Government Operations committee  Yes, I'm being very careful about my statements, because I'm under oath. I understand what that means—

Government Operations committee  I am trying to answer the question. There are different elements of that quote you read to me, in terms of what is truthful and what is—

Government Operations committee  Last year, nobody was looking to—

Government Operations committee  I can get you that in writing. Can you repeat the quote for me?

Government Operations committee  No.

Government Operations committee  I've written them in order. The first one is about Mr. Mendicino not being happy. I would not have known that. I would not have been privy to that. I don't know where Mr. MacDonald got that. I'm not saying that it came from me—it did not come from me. I was not briefing the minister or the minister's office.

Government Operations committee  I do not recall saying that about Mr. Mendicino or relaying any information that would have come to me. At that time, that was not the concern. Can I answer numbers two and three?

Government Operations committee  No. I do not recall that. Can I answer two and three?