With bells on
THE SCENE: An airport hotel room. At left, seated in an armchair, KARLHEINZ SCHREIBER, stroking a cat. Before him stands MARTIN BRIAN MULRONEY, 18th PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA.
MBM Well, golly, Mr. Schreiber, who by the way I have never had any dealings with. It was good of you to call me, since you were passing through town, to go for a cup of coffee. But why are we out here at Mirabel? Wouldn't the lobby bar of the Queen Elizabeth have been simpler?...
KHS (Throws head back. Laughs, a long, slow, villainous laugh.) Brian, Brian, Brian. I have something I want you to do for me.
MBM Jeepers, Mr. Schreiber. What can that be? I'm just a simple ex-Prime Minister and former president of the Iron Ore Co. of Canada. How can I be of service to a sophisticated international businessmen such as yourself?
KHS I can't exactly put it into words, or certainly not on paper. But it involves consulting me on a couple of projects in which you have particular expertise. The one is a simple matter of building German tanks in Cape Breton with federal money for export to Saudi Arabia. The other is a miracle pasta machine. And since we have never had any dealings with each other, or certainly nothing remotely related to Airbus, I am willing to pay you $100,000 a year, the first $100,000 in advance. I might even throw in another $200,000 in two subsequtent hotel room meetings within the next 16 months. Think of it as a retainer. Which by the way means you do not need to declare it on your income tax until years later. Or mention it in court under oath.
MBM Jiminy cricket, Mr. Schreiber. That's just the sort of business I'm interested in. You see, after nine years as prime minister, I have no money, or not enough to support my family in the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed. Not only that, but I've done nothing about this situation in the six months since I decided to step down as prime minister. In short, I'm flat broke, if you don't count my parliamentary pension or the multiple directorships and massive legal fees I'll be pulling down the minute I leave politics. So if you'll just make the cheque out to --
KHS (Laughs that laugh again. At length.) Brian, Brian, Brian. We don't need no stinking cheques! I deal in cash only.
MBM Gosh, Mr. Schreiber. I don't know. Why would you want to do this in cash?
KHS Because I'm a sophisticated international businessman, that's why, and like all sophisticated international businessmen, I always deal in cash.
MBM But shouldn't we leave some sort of paper trail? There'll have to be invoices, contracts, bank statements. Because I have nothing to hide.
KHS No! I said cash! K-A-S-H! Here, just take the envelope.
MBM Gee whillikers, Mr. Schreiber. All right. You're the sophisticated international businessman. If you say it's okay, I guess it's all right by me. I just hope I'm not making a colossal mistake...
Or so we are asked to believe.
11/22/2007
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10 Comments
I will never understand why someone who was once wealthy and would likely be wealthy again, would stoop to such a Liberal bags of cash in Italian restaurants under the table type arrangement.
Please forgive my ignorance in this matter. Why does the Prime Minster of Canada decide what airplanes Air Canada will buy rather than the Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada?
Whats at stake here for Mulroney any way, would that $300,000 be considered a bribe? If Karlheinz Schreiber got Air Canada to buy Airbus jets instead of Boeing jets by paying Mulroney $300,000 would the RCMP be obligated to charge both Mulroney & Karlheinz Schreiber with something? What would the charge be?
Rod,
Because in those days AC was a creature of the Federal Government and any President got the job only with the approval of the PM's office.
Just think VIA Rail today and understand why a political hack like Pelletier bacame President after his career busting heads for Cruton.
He wouldn't know a caboose from a track tie, but he gets $350k a year in lolly, knowing that if the PM's office calls and says "but from XYY Company", it will happen.
My only question is, was the Airbus deal a lemon, or were the plans actually a good buy?
Has anyone suggested that Air Canada bought the sub-par plane?
The issue is two fold
1) Was money offered for influence, regardless of whether the right choice is made bribes should not be involved. For the potential of making the wrong choice.
2) If there were 20,000,000 in "commissions" paid out, despite my understanding that the contract explicity stated this wouldnt be the case, then you have the issue of whether Air Canada actually paid $20,000,000 more for the planes than it should have, as well as a breach of a contract term.
If there really were $10,000,000 distributed and that the $300,000 BMXPM received was connected to that it sure seems like a pittance, a mere 3% of the available "commission". Awfully small for a the head cheese wouldnt you say.
Leaves three possibilities, 1) There was more. 2) It had nothing to do with AirBus 3) Mulroney undersold his services...lets dismiss 3 as highly unlikely on the risk reward scale and BMXPM is unlikely to ever undersell his value....
I still think it was 2) and an ill advised one. The question is who got the other 9.7 million dollars? The minister is charge was Crosbie, pretty clean guy there.....did the money make it other AirCanada executives or board members?
Finally, who said the $300,000 came out of the $10,000,000 spread around money. KHS got wealthy selling the airbus and some the $20,000,000 is legitimate salesmans commission....so his $300,000 to BMXPM could just as easily have come from his own legitimately earned dollars.
That is a question the committee should ask....what was the the source of the $300,000 you gave to Mr Mulroney?
Was Mr Mulroney ever aware of the source of the funds you gave him?
What was the purpose of the $300,000, for what work was it to be for?
Why did you pay Mr Mulroney in cash? Was it your choice and insistence or his or one of his aides requests?
Finally, why should we take your word on any of this, do you have any other evidence to back up your story? and if so will you please table it for the committee today?
It wouldn't be completely implausible that Schreiber had somehow obtained exclusive rights to market Airbus in Canada in the 80's to AirCanada, Wardair, PWA, CP etc.
The percentage/commission rates could have been determined well in advance of when the final tender documents and terms (no commissions) were released by AirCanada.
I'm reminded of a similar arrangement that the Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) has with a company in Alberta that gives them exclusivity for CANDU sales within that province. Under this type of arrangement, I would gather that if a utility wanted to deal directly with AECL (bypassing the rights holder for whatever reason) the rights holder would still be compensated for any successful sale, recognizing their efforts that led to the deal (schmoozing, tour junkets, or whatever).
Could be similar with the Airbus arrangement on the AirCanada deal. Who knows?
"Strangers On A Train (airport hotel)"
A Play in Five Acts by Andrew Coyne.
Great post Mr. Coyne.
Hmmmmmm, Even Pat Martin accepts that BMPM wasn't on the take for Airbus, which leaves you wallowing lower in this muckraking job than him. AC, you must be quite pleased with yourself.
Please, please, make sure this gets into the print version of Macleans!