Information & Ethics committee  It was because I wasn't a star candidate for your guys; that's why.

Information & Ethics committee  Sir, may I remind the gentleman that my tax dollars are paying his salary to be here.

Information & Ethics committee  None, sir.

Information & Ethics committee  No problem, sir.

Information & Ethics committee  I don't think the issue is with the NDP, sir. The issue is mostly with the Conservative Party, sir. And to answer your question--

Information & Ethics committee  I'll answer his question. To answer your question, sir, if I were to have that $8,000 returned, hey, no problem. I'm sure I could have done a lot better to increase the.... But it wasn't the case, sir. That $8,000 didn't exist in our bank account. By the way, I was never told that we were going to have radio coverage.

Information & Ethics committee  Excuse me, sir, I gave you time to talk. May I talk, please? Thank you. By the way, we were never told about radio coverage, sir. There never was, and that never happened. That x amount of dollars that happened to have you for advertising, that never happened, sir.

Information & Ethics committee  He called me up one afternoon and said, “Listen, Mr. Martelli, is it okay if we deposit $14,000 in your account?” Coming back to my story, I asked Benoît what this $14,000 was. “Oh, nothing. Listen, I asked another nine ridings, and you would be the tenth one if you accepted. It's up to you to accept or not.”

Information & Ethics committee  Not at all, sir.

Information & Ethics committee  Exactly.

Information & Ethics committee  Do you mean prior to that $14,000 in and out, sir?

Information & Ethics committee  No, sir. Nobody from the party talked to me.

Information & Ethics committee  I feel pretty disappointed in them, sir, because I believed in their vision. I believed what Stephen Harper had to say. Many people believed. But unfortunately, it's not the case.

Information & Ethics committee  Never, sir.

Information & Ethics committee  All the papers, sir, Mr. Michel Rivard has in Quebec City. Elections Canada, too, has a copy of these transcripts, sir.