We all agree that the City of Gatineau is within walking distance from Parliament Hill. We are not talking about a huge number of kilometres. In addition, the new policy talks about a distance of 10 kilometres from the Parliament buildings. That means 10 kilometres north or south. In the past, the distance was four kilometres. This is not a question of security. We do agree that not all departments would be involved. For example, we would not consider the RCMP. I was thinking rather of other departments as regards this target.
You gave me the example of a location in Gatineau where a lease was expired and the property was on the same side of the river. I want to hear more about leases that are expiring on the Ottawa side of the river, where costs are much higher. If I understood your answer correctly, no effort has been made with respect to transfers, in an effort to sign less expensive leases on the Gatineau side of the river.
In addition, when we are talking about moving a large number of people, and when no building is available but a contractor is prepared to build one to meet the needs, do you take into account that it will be less costly in the long term to be located on the Quebec side of the river?