Thank you, Chair.
Mr. Beaulieu, thank you for being here.
I want to say I'm very sympathetic to what you've told us about your situation. I'm also very concerned about what you've shared with us, because our main concern as the government operations committee--an oversight committee on government spending--is that we're getting the best value possible for our tax dollars.
This is a huge amount of money to deal with the maintenance of 319 buildings, but from what you've told us I understand there's very little true competition left in the tendering process in the administration of these contracts. We don't know if we're getting the best value unless we test the market with a true and open competition.
Do you know if SNC-Lavalin operates on a cost-plus basis? In other words, do they accept your price, add 10% or 15%, and then submit that to the federal government? Is that their modus operandi?