Public Accounts committee  That is not what I am saying. Perhaps he left something out. I am telling you what I remember. I cannot speak for Mr. Gladu, but I have a great deal of respect for him. He worked very hard and he had a very good reputation within the public service. We reviewed this together and he mentioned that the employees were unhappy, that they did not want to move.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate Mr. McCallum's question. I cannot accuse anyone, because I did not carry out an investigation. I simply made a request and I have no idea what happened in the process. I asked for information, for a verification. It was carried out and what I asked for turned out to be possible.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Sweet, I cannot understand how you cannot grasp that I was told more office space was needed and that the offices would be used. I told you that I made a request to check and assess if it was possible, without this costing any more. The move would have cost Canada Economic Development $1 million.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, I will have to repeat myself. I asked for a verification, but I took no decision. I was not in favour of maintaining this decision and seeing the taxpayers foot the bill. However, I was told that extra office space was needed and that the space in Place Bonaventure would be used by public servants, that the government needed more space.

Public Accounts committee  No.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the note that has been handed to me, because I did not have the details of this. I had not seen the final figures. I had simply asked for a verification. I see there is a difference of $120,000 per year over five years, which makes $600,000; we were talking about over $1 million for the move alone, plus the inconvenience, the loss of productivity, the improvements to the building, etc.

Public Accounts committee  I beg you pardon?

Public Accounts committee  Sorry. The person says that there was no way to make improvements while the existing owner was there, at that time. I should point out that the deputy minister said before this committee that access for the disabled had been improved. However, the report states the opposite. It was done.

Public Accounts committee  That's not true.

Public Accounts committee  It's not true.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Christopherson, I don't know how to explain it to you. The deputy minister explained his fears regarding the move, and I told him that I wanted to intervene. He did not mention that. He may have forgotten. My chief of staff was with me, and I told him that I planned to intervene, not to alter the decision but to see whether there was a way of proceeding in full compliance with the rules that would not cost taxpayers a penny.

Public Accounts committee  Please allow me to finish. Mr. Chairman, could I finally answer that question?

Public Accounts committee  The person says—

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Christopherson, let say you buy a house from my next-door neighbour but one, for $200,000. I'll try to explain this so that you understand what I'm getting at. You think the house is a good deal, and I suggest you go look at it because I think it's a good price. You buy the house, and then you realize paid $50,000 too much.

Public Accounts committee  If I had been told it was impossible, and that it would cost money—