Thank you very much, Mr. Chong.

I've been out of the business of government for a long time. I very much would like to get to Mr. Chong's question, although something says that, really, my wife should be here answering that question. I was lying in the sand a long way away while she had to deal with what you're talking about.

Perhaps to sum it up, in listening to testimony a couple of days ago before your committee, I heard again and again that things have changed, that the government does this better, that they're better organized and that Global Affairs, my old department, is restructured and ready and able to do all this. That may well be the case; I simply don't know, but it sure wasn't the case 16 years ago.

Just to give you one example, Mary was not told that Louis and I were alive for 45 days. The government knew that we were alive immediately following our grab. They regularly had intelligence information suggesting that we were alive at different points after that. In terms of who was managing our affair, I have no idea. Both the RCMP and Foreign Affairs insisted that each of them were in charge. The PCO never said anything to anybody, and never focused attention on what was not happening.

We made two videos. Louis's family and mine were not told that the videos were made. Finally, Mary couldn't stand the lack of information. She went down to meet with the then secretary-general of the UN, who told her that we were alive and seemed to be in relatively good shape. Ban Ki-moon having told her that there was a video, she came back and demanded to see the video. It was then 45 days old. The RCMP said they'd have trouble translating it, but they'd see what they could do. Mary said she didn't need it translated, and they showed her the video.

Some weeks later, about 30 days later, she was going to London to see our fourth daughter, who lived there and needed a little care and attention. Before she left, she spoke to her interlocutors from the RCMP and said she'd be away, but to get in touch with her if anything came up.

She was having lunch with our high commissioner in London, who said she must be really happy to see the most recent video. Mary told him she didn't know what he was talking about. He left, made a phone call home and a few minutes later the RCMP called and told her that, yes, there was another video. When she said she wanted to see it, they told her that she would have to come back to Canada. It was so sensitive they couldn't possibly send it to London. That was idiotic, of course. They then did send it and she could see it.

If I may, I will read a little of the book I wrote, which perhaps highlights my concern in this regard.

On 23 February, in one of the rare briefings at Foreign Affairs, Mary asked for confirmation of the accuracy of media reports that suggested our captors had made a specific ransom demand. A very senior RCMP officer—in fact, the future commissioner of the RCMP—interrupted, pointed his finger across the table to where she sat and snapped, “As long as I am in charge of this investigation not one cent will be paid for the release of these high muckety-mucks.” At that point, her trust in the management of her case was destroyed. Louis's wife and my wife refused to attend future meetings.

No, relations with hostages 16 years ago were not very well managed.