One issue we raise here is the way funding is given to the department. If the department acquires a building, it records the whole amount of the purchase cost in that year. And government and all the appropriations—and this ties into another chapter—are still on that cash basis, so they would show the cash outlay all in one year, whereas if they rent, under leasing they show a very small portion, so they stay within their appropriations.
We really believe the way funding occurs is also influencing the fact that they're not acquiring buildings. There could be other policy decisions, but we saw no evidence or any documentation that would indicate that government has a policy of leasing rather than purchasing. Certainly, as Auditor General, unless we see that, we would obviously always go to the least-cost option.