Minister, you said that it was common practice in your department to handle internal documents in the manner you just suggested. In other words, if a document came across your desk recommending approval of a grant, and you disagreed, you would insert the word “not” or “not to be funded”, or something like that.
Could you please expand upon that and maybe let us know, and let the committee know, how many times, since you say this was common practice, you might have done this without ever causing the kind of furor and brouhaha we seem to have before us today? How common was this common practice?