Mr. Chair, I'm happy to answer the question.
I think the first part of that two-part question is speculative in a way, because we knew the media was aware of this information. It had sought commentary, so we knew that a story was going to be coming into the public domain.
I think the first thing to do is just underscore the unprecedented nature of the story. This was sensational. It was the first time ever on Canadian soil.... The moment the government understood that the story was going to go public, as Minister Leblanc has previously described, there were concerns about ensuring that Canadians felt safe, felt secure and felt confident that the government was on top of and aware of the issue and doing what it could to manage the issue.
To answer your question, you can imagine it's rather implausible, knowing the media was about to release the sensational story, that the government would simply choose not to comment. The Prime Minister's decision, as it has been previously described by the Prime Minister and Minister Leblanc, was meant to address a concerned Canadian public and reassure them about what the government's approach would be in addressing this issue and how the government had already been actively involved, including the Prime Minister's raising it personally with Prime Minister Modi at the G20.
I think the Prime Minister has said on the record that the intention was never to provoke India. Certainly, if you look at Canada's engagement with India, including just in the last year in the lead-up to this, you'll see there was an intensification across the board in trying to build a strong relationship.
Thanks.