Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Oda and Ms. Biggs, for appearing before the committee.
First, I have to say that the confusion you are talking about is not relevant for us. We have never questioned the fact that it was your decision and your government's decision. We have never challenged the fact that the government is entitled to make its political choices, even if we disagree with those choices. Our problem is that the word "not" was added after CIDA officials had signed the document, as you confirmed. This would allow us to infer that CIDA's management was agreeing to the government's decision. That's the first thing. Here's the problem. The problem is not determining whether it was your decision or not; we know that it was your decision or the decision of the Prime Minister.
First, adding the word "not" to the document that had already been signed implies that CIDA's management was in agreement. Second, you made a statement that contradicted your response on April 23, 2010 to a question on the order paper, namely, that it was CIDA's decision not to fund KAIROS. So, it was false.
The confusion comes not from the fact that we didn't quite understand whether you were the one who put in the word "not", because you knew who had done it. That isn't the problem. The problem in this matter comes from the fact that, for weeks, you and your parliamentary secretary let it be understood that CIDA's management approved the government's and your decision. There's the problem. That's what we're trying to understand.
First and foremost, why not simply refuse to sign the document? The two CIDA officials signed the document in September and you received it in November. Why not simply refuse to sign it if you didn't agree with the officials, rather than falsify the document and then sign it? Why didn't you content yourself with not signing the document, which seems quite normal to me? If the minister doesn't sign, there would be no grant, so the $7 million would be cancelled, and we wouldn't have this scheme before us. I have here this sheet that has made the rounds.
So, I'm waiting for your response.