Madam Chair, the decision did cost the Crown money. It was unfortunate. However, from our point of view as a service provider, we received a legitimate request from the minister in charge of that agency. Our department, the officials at the time, responded to that request in a straightforward manner and satisfied the wishes of the client.
Now, I must say this has changed considerably over the years. Today, Public Works, with the support of the secretariat of the Treasury Board, is much more rigorous in not allowing clients to have sole discretion over what they want to do. We are much more mindful of value to the public purse.