Thank you. I'd like to make a comment first.
I think we should take things into perspective. The Auditor General had stated that parliamentarians do not pay much attention to estimates and that it is important for us to pay attention to estimates. I can see that there is a $21.8 million issue, and I'll come to it in a minute. But going forward I have not seen any estimates for the extension of the Afghan mission; as a parliamentarian, I have no idea of the roles and responsibilities, the human resource costs, the cost of equipment. I think, therefore, people here should understand that it is our responsibility to make government accountable. We are parliamentarians and we cannot willy-nilly allow the Prime Minister to do whatever he wants, and that's the context in which I'm going to put it.
My question is to Monsieur St-Jean. Who wrote the Financial Administration Act? I know you've only been here two years, but does anybody know who wrote the act? It could have been lawyers and accountants. In a business world, accountants seek opinions. I understand from Mr. Morgan that because this involves legislative issues, you had to seek a legal opinion.
Mr. St-Jean, you have been very thoughtful in projecting what your predecessor, or whoever sought the opinions, tried to do. You mentioned that a liability has to be recorded after Treasury Board approves it. Am I putting words in your mouth? Is that the right statement?