Thank you.
I have a couple of points to follow up on what Mr. Brock has laid out. Number one, the story that I did read, and that started the ball rolling on February 28, alleged that a consular official at the Chinese embassy had been in touch with Mr. Zhang in Canada and had instructed him to give a million dollars to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. The foundation was never offered a million dollars. The million dollars went to the University of Montreal, so I have difficulty connecting the allegation in that story with the facts. That story has never been confirmed, to my knowledge, by a government official or by CSIS. The amount I want to underline that was actually received by the foundation was $140,000 over two years. The facts don't accord with the allegation.
The use of a Hong Kong address.... If I make a donation to the Red Cross and I'm going to be in Florida at tax time, I ask the Red Cross to send the receipt to me in Florida in a different jurisdiction. That doesn't make a difference. I'm a Canadian. I'm a Canadian taxpayer, and I made the donation. I've always felt that similar logic applies to the case of this particular donation. The donor was a Canadian corporation—Millennium Golden Eagle International (Canada). That's the donor, and the receipt was made out to the name of that Canadian donor. Frankly, the receipt would be of no value to a non-Canadian taxpayer—to an entity that's not paying Canadian taxes.
If I may just add one broader thought taken from 10,000 feet, I am concerned—deeply concerned—to see the receipt of a donation in 2016 being judged by the standards of 2023 vis-à-vis China.