Canada’s foreign affairs minister and consul general in New York did not influence or direct the purchase of a $9 million luxury home in New York City, a House of Commons committee was told Wednesday.
MPs also heard that the building, which will become the official residence for Canada’s consul general in New York, will have annual operating costs that are 50 percent lower and cost C$4 million less than the previous residence, which was recently put up for sale.
Lawmakers on the Government Operations and Budget Committee also heard that, unlike the previous homes, the new apartments will meet accessibility standards, won’t require renovations and will have fewer restrictions on the types of events that can be held.
Since the purchase was announced in July, opposition lawmakers have criticized it as overly extravagant given the cost-of-living challenges Canadians face at home.
Conservative lawmakers suggested Wednesday that the purchase was made to give perks to a “media associate” of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, veteran broadcaster Tom Clark, who now serves as consul general.
Several officials denied the allegations on Wednesday.
“This was a prudent acquisition. In fact, the process was sound, policy-compliant, well-documented and free from any influence, including from Mr. Clark,” Stephane Cousineau, Canada’s senior deputy minister for foreign affairs (GAC), told MPs.
Cousineau and other senior GAC officials said Clark, who moderated the recent Conservative leadership debate, did not advise or play any role in the purchase of the new home, and that he was not informed about the apartments GAC was considering.
Clark is due to appear before the committee next week.
MPs also heard that Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly’s chief of staff was informed about the purchase shortly before it was finalised in late June, but the minister had no involvement in it.
GAC officials said the apartment is used as a residence for the consul general but is also a working space where as many as 50 meetings have been held over the past two years.
Mark Allen, GAC’s director for North America, told the committee that the trade and investment generated through consular operations and official residences “is directly linked to the economic security of Canadians.”
He said that while the consulate has an office where Canadian officials can meet with investors, “the intimacy and personal nature of the official residence of the head of the Canadian embassy adds to their general toolkit.”
He said a number of investments in Canada could be directly tied to the consul general’s use of the New York residence.
“This includes a $1.5 billion investment in the Nemaska mine, a lithium mine in Quebec,” he said.
He said New York is a global financial market centre and “two Japanese banks based in New York invested $39 million in other nickel and lithium projects in Canada as a result of the event held at the residence.”
Robin Dubow, GAC’s director of real estate and infrastructure, told the committee that the five-bedroom apartment at 550 Park Avenue, which was used as an official residence, is no longer suitable.
He said the property was purchased in 1961 and hadn’t been renovated since 1982. It also didn’t meet accessibility standards and much of the infrastructure in the building was nearing the end of its useful life.
In addition to structural issues, the home at 550 Park Avenue is a multi-family home, and board members wanted to restrict the use of the apartments for official events, officials said.
Dubow said GAC has considered three solutions to the problem: renovating the current residences at a cost of $2.6 million, leasing suitable units or purchasing new apartments.
Dubeau said the police department hired a local real estate agent and toured 21 properties in Manhattan before selecting the 11th-floor property at 111 West 57th Street, which he said would cost $115,000 less to operate than the home at 550 Park Avenue.
The new apartments are more flexible in terms of the events they can host, and because they’re new, they won’t need to be renovated, he said.
Listed on real estate website Zillow.com Posted last week A five-bedroom luxury apartment on the 12th floor of 550 Park Avenue is being advertised for $9.5 million (about C$13 million).
Dubow said the sale of the old homes and reduced maintenance costs for the new apartments will ultimately save taxpayers $7.4 million over the life of the building.
