The issues to be decided at the Oliphant Commission, probing the dealings between Karlheinz Schreiber and former prime minister Brian Mulroney, have a lot to do with credibility. In today's testimony by Mulroney, it was clear that one of the documents presented by his team attempted to weaken the credibility of Schreiber. The document was a letter, written by Schreiber on May 7, 1991, nearly a month after Schreiber claims to have had a meeting with Mulroney, Paul Tellier, and Fred Doucet.
Tellier was, at the time, the Clerk of the Privy Council. Doucet was then a lobbyist but had been Mulroney's chief of staff while he was opposition leader and a senior advisor when he became prime minister. He and Mulroney also had a close personal relationship that existed decades before he became PM.
Mulroney disputed the notion that he took a meeting with Schreiber. He says he took a meeting with either Doucet or Elmer Mackay (Peter's father, who stepped down as MP for Central Nova so Mulroney could run there once) and if they brought Schreiber in to that meeting, well then, so be it, because he trusted both those men.
However it's characterized, it seems clear that Tellier, with Mulroney present, met with Schreiber on April 10, 1991.
Schreiber was pushing the deal for his company, Bear Head Industries Ltd. Bear Head's plan was to have German arms maker Thyssen build a manufacturing facility in Cape Breton, “a relatively simple proposition”, in Schreiber's words.
Mulroney – and Tellier – had soured on the plan early on because they concluded it was exactly the opposite of a “relatively simple proposition”. Still, some Conservatives — notably Sen. Lowell Murray — and Schreiber continued to press the plan.
So: After meeting Tellier on April 10 and believing that he had impressed everyone with his plan, he waits. And waits. And waits. He calls. He has Doucet call. And no one calls him back.
He can't understand why no one has followed up with him:
“At the conclusion of that meeting, it was understood that you [Tellier] would bring your personal leadership to the file and chari a meeting between Government and company officials as early as possible within one week's time.”
Tellier scrawls two words in the margin of this letter from Schreiber: “Not accurate.”
Later in this seven-page letter, Schreiber says he can't understand why this has become a problem, particularly since:
“.. The Prime MInister (Mulroney) … made it clear in his speeches that his Government declared in its Cabinet Policy to use the industrial benefits associated with defence procurement to strengthen regional economies and overcome regional disparities. Furthermore, the Prime Minister made his personal position on the subject clear on April during our meeting.”
Tellier scrawls again in the margin: “Not accurate.”
Schreiber continues with his theme on page 5 of the letter: “All parties, with the possible exception of our competitors, seemed in favour of the project.”
And again, Tellier's note reads “Not accurate.”