Consul general says complaints about old residence made ‘in passing’

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OTTAWA — Canada’s Consul General in New York says concerns he raised about his official residence that were later cited in Global Affairs Canada’s rationale for purchasing a $9 million condo on Billionaires’ Row were only made “in passing.”

Tom Clark defended the remarks he made about his official residence in a new letter to the parliamentary committee currently probing the purchase.

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It comes after the committee discussed newly released documents, obtained through federal access laws, earlier in the week showing that two months after his February 2023 appointment, Clark’s office had raised concerns about the space.

Conservative MPs say that contradicts earlier testimony from Clark who said he played no role in the government’s decision to purchase a new residence on a posh slice of Manhattan real estate known as Billionaires’ Row, which became public back in July.

The Opposition Tories have accused the government of buying a new residence at the behest of Clark, a former journalist whom they call Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “media buddy,” at time when Canadians are struggling under high food and housing prices.

In a letter sent to the committee, Clark says he arrived in New York in February 2023 and began hosting events to work on strengthening the economic and political interests of Canada in the U.S.

“In the course of using the Official Residence for delivering on my mandate, I observed that seating options presented challenges, including for guests with mobility or accessibility issues,” Clark wrote.

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“I also observed the issues between the family and representational spaces. I shared these views with the Consulate General administration who advised me that these concerns were in line with those shared with Global Affairs Canada Headquarters since 2014.”

Clark goes on to say he was unaware until media reports this week “that this comment made in passing to a colleague had been reported by the Consulate General to the Global Affairs Canada property team.”

“Any reference to myself in the mission’s input provided in April 2023 is an indirect third-hand account.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly testified this week that the decision to purchase a new residence was an operational choice, not a political one.

Joly, along with a string of other department officials, have defended the purchase as having followed all of the proper channels and been based on sound financial analysis.

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As in Clark’s letter, the department has said issues with the existing residence have been flagged since 2014 and that previous plans to renovate it, which still would have left some issues unresolved, were derailed by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic back in March 2020.

“In closing,” Clark says in his letter, “I would again like to note that at no time did I provide any direction to employees on the department’s ongoing consideration of the residence, nor did I exert any influence on the purchase of the new residence.”

The May 2023 documents in question — first reported on by Politico but also obtained by the National Post — show the property branch within Global Affairs Canada noted that, “the (Consulate General New York) in April 2023 informed … senior management that the property is not suitable for representational activities, and it is not suitable as a residence and requires immediate replacement.”

The shortcomings listed included accessibility issues, as well as the fact there was no division between private and official spaces.

“Occupants would essentially need to be relegated to the bedroom when an event is taking place,” the document said.

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Officials also noted ongoing issues with the condo board that had place “strict restrictions” about the number of guests and size of events that could be staged in the building.

National Post
staylor@postmedia.com

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