Industry committee  Sir, my personal view is that the solution to that challenge would be to bring the funding more directly within the ambit of government, where the checks and balances and administrative responsibilities of government can fully come into play in the oversight of funds. In my perspective, foundations like SDTC are strange animals from a governance perspective.

Industry committee  The only specific event I can recall, sir, was that, several years ago, Ms. Verschuren received an honorary degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. I live in Newfoundland, and she invited me to the convocation with her.

Industry committee  Sir, ISED did not undertake any independent assessments of conflict of interest. We relied on the organization, which had a specific responsibility to do that. I relied on what I saw in the board meetings. Individual members recused themselves when they had a perceived or possible conflict of interest.

Industry committee  Sir, my experience was that Ms. Verschuren was a reasonable chair and that board meetings were conducted in a responsible way. The specific issues around conflict were presented, as I saw them—as this table heard before—by people recusing themselves. I saw no evidence of any of the specific concerns that were raised by the whistle-blower until such time as I saw the whistle-blower's report.

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, I had regular discussions with my deputy minister about the overall processes of SDTC—

Industry committee  I am aware that the deputy minister was aware of the potential conflict with Ms. Verschuren.

Industry committee  I can't comment. I can tell you that—

Industry committee  I did not have any discussion with former minister Bains or his staff about that.

Industry committee  My understanding, sir, is that the potential conflict with Ms. Verschuren was well known as part of the process. My understanding is she disclosed [Inaudible—Editor]—

Industry committee  Thank you, Chair. Good evening, honourable members. I'm appearing before you today as a private individual, having retired from ISED in January after 40 years of public service. Within ISED, I worked on matters related to energy and clean technology. As part of my duties, I was the department's liaison with SDTC.