Mr. Chairman, public servants were involved in supporting the minister in a number of meetings. Public servants indicated to us, and that was confirmed by the documentation, that they were not involved in the selection of the projects. I continue to believe that was the case. I stand behind that conclusion, that public servants were not involved in the actual project selection.
We have had a look at the documentation from the municipalities. It's subsequently been made public. Notwithstanding that documentation, we maintain the position that, in our view, public servants were not involved in the selection of projects.
There was one particular meeting where it was not clear whether or not the meeting involved discussions and selection of projects or the program overall. In that particular case, I have reconfirmed with the deputy minister that it was not a meeting that involved decisions as to the selection of projects, and he has reconfirmed to me, in writing, that public servants were not involved in project selection.