Justice committee  I think that if you're going to go down this road—and I do think it's a productive thing to go down—then you'd have to look at Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and provincial governments and ask yourself where has it been done and where has it not been done. My genera

Justice committee  Thank you for the question. First of all, it's an opportunity to say something I said earlier, which is that in Canada we have a very strong transparency regime. These contacts with government and this advocacy by companies is recorded; it's registered and it's regulated. That is

Justice committee  Mr. Chair, can I just clarify one point about the availability of documents? I'm trying very hard to be helpful to the committee.

Justice committee  I was never asked the question directly, but I just volunteer it to try to be helpful to the committee. As this issue started to bubble in September and October, I, like many people, wanted to understand the decision-making framework, who had what role, what authority and what

Justice committee  What I meant by lawful was that it was an option available to the minister under legislation passed by this Parliament. There was nothing illegal about a deferred prosecution agreement. It's a lawful instrument and an option that was always, and still is, available to the Ministe

Justice committee  I have no line of sight to the evidence and the arguments. That is a decision that is entirely, 100% in the hands of the DPP and the minister.

Justice committee  I think that when you're considering a change of that magnitude, you are not talking about changing an app; you are talking about going into the deep code and the operating system of this country. It should not be done lightly. It should be studied thoroughly. I think parties s

Justice committee  No. I do remember that he attended the Sherbrooke cabinet meeting, as I did. I crossed him in the hall. I came over and greeted him because I know him. I have never had a conversation with Mr. Justice Iacobucci about these matters.

Justice committee  Yes. I met her as early as 2006, when I started working at INAC. I attended assemblies of B.C. chiefs. I was a co-panellist with her at academic conferences. I was a co-panellist with her at a number of meetings. We've had breakfasts and lunches. We've had an ongoing conversation

Justice committee  That's not my reading of the law. My understanding is in this context, “national economic interest” means domestic as opposed to the interests of other countries. I repeat that I believe the impacts on jobs, suppliers, customers, pensioners and communities are a legitimate public

Justice committee  No, because the file was entirely in the carriage of the then minister of justice.

Justice committee  Yes. There's one thing specifically, which is the legal opinion I sought and obtained in October, which I'm now at liberty to share with the committee.

Justice committee  I don't remember the terminology. I know Mr. Justice Iacobucci because we worked on a committee together, which was the selection committee that chose the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I was aware of him because I attended the University of Toronto when he wa

Justice committee  I think I explained this earlier. It was not so much the board meeting. The board would make decisions about divulgation to shareholders and the public. They are a publicly traded company that regularly would have obligations to markets, and what they told the market would have r

Justice committee  I think that I was of the view, and I remain of the view, that the potential impact on 9,000 people—the suppliers, the customers and the communities—is a relevant public interest consideration.