OTTAWA — An internal briefing note from Global Affairs Canada in June described New York consul general Tom Clark as having been “instrumental” in the choice of his new official residence, but the information was corrected in an update a month later.
The National Post obtained a copy of these emails that were presented in evidence during Clark’s much-awaited testimony on Thursday at a House of Commons committee investigating the purchase of the $9-million luxury condo in Manhattan.
On June 17, GAC director and chief of staff Emily Nicholson wrote to then-Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly’s chief of staff Peter Wilkinson to offer an update and the rationale for selling the current official residence for the Canadian consulate in New York.
“The current residence had been identified as unsuitable for representational activities or residential use, and was not meeting the mission’s needs,” wrote Nicholson.
“Both the mission, including the HOM (head of mission), and the property team in Ottawa, agreed on the need to identify a replacement property,” she added.
Nicholson also wrote that Clark and his staff had been “instrumental throughout this process,” with Clark “providing the greenlight for the selection of the new residence.”
Wilkinson thanked Nicholson for her briefing note and said the decision to sell the current residence and purchase a new one seemed to be a “logical step to take.”
In mid-July, American media was speculating that King Charles had purchased a swanky condo at the cost of $9 million on Billionaire’s Row just south of Central Park. It turned out that the condo was in fact bought by “His Majesty the King in Right of Canada.”
The attention quickly fizzled in the United States but picked up in Canada, where federal Conservatives have been decrying it as a waste of money. They have also been accusing Clark, a former CTV journalist, of demanding a new official residence as soon as he was appointed in 2023.
On July 25, Nicholson’s tune changed when she sent another email to Wilkinson to let him know that no heads of mission, including Clark, were involved in the “selection or approval process for the overall process or the property purchase” of the $9-million condo.
GAC officials also testified in August to the government operations committee that Clark did not influence the government’s decision to purchase the piece of real estate.
They not only reiterated that stance in a document sent to members of the committee to answer some of their follow-up questions but said that there was a “misrepresentation” of Clark’s involvement in Nicholson’s initial email to Joly’s chief of staff in June.
“The employee gathering and summarizing the information was not part of the process and therefore made an error in describing the situation,” it reads. “There was no influence from Mr. Clark. He was not involved in the consultation and decision-making process.”
Clark told MPs on Thursday that he only became aware of the June email less than 48 hours prior to his committee appearance and said its contents were “untrue.”
“I have not ever met Emily Nicholson or spoken to Emily Nicholson, but I share with you the astonishment that something would be written that is so completely wrong,” he said.
“I had no role whatsoever in either deciding to sell the former residence or buying the new one. That was completely undertaken by the property bureau in Ottawa. I was not involved in the selection of the new property, its amenities or its location,” he added.
Clark said that it was only after an offer had been made to buy the condo that he saw it.
Nicholson’s July email noted that concerns about the condition of the current official residence of the consul general in New York were first raised in 2014, long before Clark was appointed. But the intention before his arrival in 2023 was to renovate the condo.
Ultimately, she wrote, supply chain issues and contractor access due to the pandemic, challenges with the building administration and municipal authorizations delayed the refurbishment, and the “poor condition” of the unit was re-confirmed in April 2023.
Conservatives noted that Clark held a reception during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit that same month, on April 27, 2023, and insinuated those talks on getting a new residence “intensified immediately” after Trudeau’s visit. Clark said that was “incorrect.”
GAC investigated the real estate market for suitable properties for months before settling for the last unit in Steinway Hall at a lower price than originally listed.
The department claims that the new residence represents up to $7.4 million in savings for taxpayers, since it comes at a lower cost than the $13 million listing price of the current one and will eliminate spending $2.6 million in renovation costs and save $115,000 in annual operational fees.
Clark said he has held 38 events — meetings, receptions and dinners — in the current residence since he arrived. Just last week, he held a reception for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his delegation on the eve of their trade and political mission to Canada.
He said other events include dinners centred around venture capital, private equity, political outreach, artificial intelligence, public policy and the arts.
But Conservative MP Michael Barrett told Clark not to get too comfortable once he settles into the new official residence: “Sir, keep your bags packed in that new place. Conservatives are going to fire you.”
National Post
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