ETHI Committee Report

As noted at the beginning of this report, the testimony received by the Committee in relation to the Mulroney Airbus settlement revealed many material inconsistencies and contradictions.  The Committee heard witness statements that could not be reconciled with other witness testimony, and in some cases, witness accounts of certain incidents were challenged by persons outside the Committee hearing process.  Given the passage of time in relation to these events, the fact that some of the participants are deceased, and the vast array of documentation, much of which has yet to be obtained, let alone fully examined, it is difficult to completely resolve such inconsistencies.  The Committee’s work has served to raise the principal issues that require further examination and brought to public attention the testimonies of the two principal participants, Mr. Karlheinz Schreiber and the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney.

It is now time for a public inquiry to utilize the full array of powers at its disposal, such as forensic, investigative and legal resources, in order to fill the information gaps, evaluate all of the evidence, and derive findings of fact. The inquiry will be able to examine its eventual findings in the light of the ethical standards of conduct and legal stipulations that existed at the time these events took place.

With respect to the scope of the inquiry, the Committee is cognizant of the findings of Professor David Johnston in his report to Prime Minister Harper in January 2008.  It was the conclusion of Professor Johnston that a lengthy inquiry is not warranted into matters that have already been investigated by the RCMP since 1995, nor should there be an inquiry with respect to facts already known.  The Committee does not agree, however, that a politically charged inquiry such as this should be limited in scope.  On the contrary, we believe that a broad mandate should be granted the Commissioner so that he or she is not unduly limited in terms of the scope of the inquiry.

The Committee therefore recommends:

RECOMMENDATION 1

That the Government appoint a commissioner of inquiry pursuant to Part 1 of the Inquiries Act at the earliest possible date and that the commissioner be granted a broad mandate to inquire into the Mulroney-Schreiber Affair.