Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government

CTV National News: Clark grilled over $9M condo Genevieve Beauchemin reports on the grilling Canada’s consul general Tom Clark received over the purchase of a $9M NYC condo.

A parliamentary committee is calling on Canada’s consul general in New York City to justify the government’s decision to buy a $9-million condo in Manhattan's famous "Billionaires’ Row," while officials say they’re already preparing to sell the envoy’s existing official residence to offset the cost of the new purchase.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has confirmed to CTV News the current residence is being “readied for sale,” and the revenue of that sale will offset the cost of purchasing the new $9-milion condo, which drew heavy criticism last week for its hefty price tag.

Meanwhile, former journalist and Consul General Tom Clark, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, as well as other departmental officials, have been summoned to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates to justify the government’s purchase of new unit just south of Central Park.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly will also be called if the committee deems it necessary.

In tabling the motion to call Clark and other government officials, Conservative MP Kelly Block called the purchase of the condo “disturbing but not surprising,” later adding, “We have seen the complete lack of spending controls on major procurements” with the Liberal government.

Last week, GAC confirmed the department had purchased a unit in the Steinway Tower, located at 111 West 57th St. The condo will be used for “networking receptions, official briefings, and hospitality events such as discussions with business and political leaders,” GAC spokesperson Jean-Pierre Godbout wrote in an email last week.

In a new statement to CTV News on Wednesday, Godbout wrote the current residence, located in Manhattan's Upper East Side neighbourhood, "is expected to exceed the purchase price of the new unit."

Asked if Clark and other officials plan to testify between Aug. 19 and 27 as the committee had asked, Godbout responded, "One way officials from Global Affairs Canada support the work of Parliament is by appearing before parliamentary committees," adding the department will respond to the committee's invitation "through the proper channels."

Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola supported Block’s motion, agreeing the $9-million price tag “needs to be examined.”

“Nine million dollars is nine lifetimes worth of work for the average person,” Vignola told the committee.

The committee is also asking that the government provide a third-party assessment of the Manhattan property, if available. The motion also stipulates the department must provide a list of “all properties, including addresses and listing prices, that have been viewed or considered for purchase for the Consulate General's official residence in New York.”

The current residence for the consul general was last renovated in 1982 and does not meet new building codes nor standards of the department, according to GAC.

Citing significant investments needed to modernize the property, the department “recommended a relocation to a new, smaller, more suitable, and more economical apartment,” Godbout told CTV News.

Godbout said the move could save Canadian taxpayers more than $2 million and reduce ongoing maintenance and property taxes.

According to a listing on the real estate website StreetEasy, the new unit is a 3,600-square foot residence boasting three bedrooms, four bathrooms and “stunning powder room is finished in jewel onyx.”

Despite the criticism and cost of having a Manhattan residence, former diplomat and current Senator Peter Boehm said it’s an important place for Canada to promote its culture and trade.

“If you want to play in the big leagues, you have to pay to some degree," Boehm told CTV News in an interview.

Boehm admits the numbers may seem high, but adds that he has seen a number of other countries’ missions in his travels and he believes Canada’s is on par.

“Canadian heads of mission, so ambassadors or consuls general, are housed very well and generally in the middle of the pack. So, not so lavish and also not so shabby, but pretty much where we are as a country,” said Boehm.

More than a decade ago, the department of Foreign Affairs under Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party started a program to sell off a number of properties and downsize others. Macdonald House at One Grosvenor Square in London, the then-residence of Canada’s high commissioner in the U.K., was sold for $530 million to a developer from India.

Proceeds from the sale of the posh and historic mansion went to help offset renovations of the high commission’s current location, Canada House, which is located at Trafalgar Square. Then-High Commissioner Gordon Campbell estimated that once the upgrades were completed, between $150 million and $200 million that could flow back to the central treasury.