Madam Chair, although the deputy minister doesn't know whether a contract was awarded, we do know that Minister LeBlanc held a big press conference on February 21, proudly proclaiming that this was a step towards reconciliation with first nations. Newfoundland and Labrador's fisheries minister, however, said it was anything but because it pitted first nations communities against one another.
That said, I will ask my question again. How is it that the department awarded a contract to a fishing company that had no fishing vessels? You're telling us that you didn't know whether it had any vessels or not. How is that possible?