Angry in the Great White North

Thanks to Dan Robertson's twitter feed for spotting this one.

Kady O'Malley at Maclean's has the key observation in her ongoing live blog of the inquiry:

2:06:21 PM

[Brian Mulroney's lawyer Guy] Pratte reads aloud from one of Mulroney's rare replies to a bit of Schreibermail, in which he confirms *a* meeting, not meetings in plural, which I guess is the point of this entire tangent. "You've exaggerated, haven't you?" Schreiber allows that he has, and Pratte presses the point home: he has exaggerated what Mulroney's letter actually said. Somehow, Schreiber manages to wrest control of the mic away from Pratte, and he explains that at the time the affidavit was prepared, he was in a detention centre, which meant it was drafted by his lawyer and he "didn't check" to make sure it was accurate. Thanks to the mic, the sound of Pratte's subsequent sigh fills the room.

I've added the emphasis.

So let's get this straight.  The Oliphaunt commission is looking into the dealings between prime minister Brian Mulroney and German businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.  Karlheinz Schreiber is trying to avoid extradition to Germany where he faces imprisonment for crimes such as bribery.  His story of cash payments and influence peddling has kept him in Canada, away from the German authorities.

But the direction provided to Justice Jeffrey Oliphaunt is quite clear.  The very first paragraph of the Terms of Reference make it clear that the affidavit sworn out by Schreiber is the primary reason for this inquiry:

Whereas Karlheinz Schreiber has made various allegations with respect to his business and financial dealings with the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, P.C., including those made in an affidavit sworn on November 7, 2007 and those made with respect to an agreement allegedly reached on June 23, 1993;

Karlheinz Schreiber can't attest to the accuracy of his own affidavit?  But an affidavit is supposed to carry the weight of sworn testimony.

Time to call it a night, I think.  Air Canada flight 872 to Frankfurt leaves tomorrow at 5:30pm.