Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Minister, for being with us.
Thanks to your officials for joining us again today.
I'll open by sending a message to my friends and family in the United States. It is a particularly important day. We've all been anxiously awaiting today, even though I know we may not have results as early as we'd like, but I wish everyone well. I hope everyone got out and voted, and exercised that critical right that we have to participate in democracy.
I'd also like to add to the context of what we're dealing with globally, with the challenges and difficulties right now and all of the different issues that have come your way as minister. I very much appreciate that you're spending this time with us today and speaking about the purchase of a property.
Minister, my Conservative colleagues have suggested that your office played a role in this transaction. As we've heard at this committee from Global Affairs Canada officials on multiple occasions, this transaction followed all guidelines and, in fact, was cost-saving for Canadians. Can you reconfirm that fact?