No, that's news to me. I really did not know.
Nobody came to see me. I learned about it from my deputy minister. You must realize that when a lease ends, Public Works and Government Services Canada must automatically initiate a tendering process. That's what I understood. The lease was up, and Public Works and Government Services Canada initiated a tendering process. That happened before I was appointed. After I was appointed, my deputy minister, Mr. Gladu, told me that we were moving. I had no objection to the move and to respecting the process. He explained to me that the move would probably cost a million dollars, perhaps more, and that there would be a loss of productivity and that the employees would be unhappy. I asked him whether he wanted me to do something about it. I did not understand why he was telling me this. I also pointed out to him that he was simultaneously telling me that there had been a tendering process, which had to be respected, but that it did not make sense.
I therefore decided to make a written request. It was transparent. It was above board. We wanted to make sure that it could happen, if possible, in accordance with the rules, without spending a penny of taxpayers' money. If it was not possible, we would have moved into Place Bonaventure, which is located just across the street.