First, let me clarify this, Mr. Chair.
When I referred to the transaction being a routine transaction, I was talking about the period starting in December 2000, up to the period of April 2002. Up until that point it was a routine tender call for a lease.
What happened in April 2002 was that the assistant deputy minister for real property services had received a heads-up.
I'm going from the record here, because I don't have a personal recollection of this.
The record demonstrates that she received a heads-up and that the minister responsible for economic development in Quebec was concerned about the move and wanted the department to explore other alternatives. There was no direction given to renew the lease at Place Victoria, but rather to explore whether other options might be possible to allow the department to stay in Place Victoria. The assistant deputy minister's direction to the region at that time was simply to begin to explore what options might be available.