Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I think my focus throughout this has been on dealing with the facts of foreign interference, trying to apply the law and putting before you as comprehensive and as thoughtful a report as we possibly could, knowing it would be reviewed by NSICOP and NSIRA, and, I hope, with the participation of the leaders of the three major parties—and I thank Mr.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I would say several things. One is that the whole review and the work that you're engaged in is to build trust in our democracy and reinforce it when it is in peril by foreign interference. In the quote you just read, we continued on to say that, in our review, we found very serious shortcomings in our systems of dealing with foreign interference, which require very substantial review and improvement, and the responsibilities of this committee and other agencies of Parliament are to do exactly that.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, in our report, we presented what we could publicly while paying full respect to the classified information that we were able to receive. We prepared an annex to that report, in which we go into detail on the classified information that permitted us to come to some of those conclusions.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I would encourage the members of the committee to read the report we have prepared and to focus our attention on the real danger we have here, which is clear, present and pervasive foreign interference in our elections. In our report, we tried to avoid the discussions of the partisan kind that you refer to and to follow the facts and apply the law thoroughly and thoughtfully.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  —he's known me for a long time, and he indicated I had none.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I was a member of the association—which is like shareholders in a general meeting—of the Trudeau Foundation, not a member of the board of directors. I joined it in 2018, just a year or so after I stepped down as Governor General, because I've had a very long concern and interest in student support—graduate students, scholarships.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The role, as a member of the association, is to attend annual general meetings and to vote in the board of directors, but I have had nothing to do whatsoever with any of the decision-making of the Trudeau Foundation.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, the first knowledge I had of that particular gift was when it appeared in the newspaper and, as a member of the association, I received a memo from the CEO, as I think other members of the association did, that they had started a press release indicating that this gift was being returned.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, my connection with the association of the Trudeau Foundation had no role whatsoever in the decision-making of the board of directors, the acceptance of gifts and so on, and—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, Professor Iacobucci and I were young law professors at the University of Toronto, when I was about 25, and yes, he's been a lifelong friend.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, Justice Iacobucci was not a member of the Trudeau Foundation. He was a mentor to one or two students who were scholars of the foundation. The function of the foundation is not only to provide scholarships but to provide the possibility of mentorship for those students by people who are respected in their area, and he served in that capacity.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, when allegations were made about me having a conflict of interest—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, with respect to the question of Ms. Block, she is a pre-eminent counsel. She—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I do not see a conflict. Sheila Block is a pre-eminent counsel. She served me very faithfully when I was invited by Prime Minister Harper to undertake another very difficult inquiry 15 years ago or so. She is renowned for the quality of her work, and certainly important work that's done well, but that said, the conclusions in the report are mine.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I don't remember that particular statement, but it is true that the Trudeau family lived in the Rideau Cottage—