I appreciate that, and I'm trying to stay clear of that demarcation.
There is an e-mail from Rachael Morneau—we've had that name before, if it's the same person, to be fair—and Carole Beal. This is April 2, 2002. It reads:
URGENT
As per our conversation of last week, André Gladu of “DEC” [...]
--the deputy--
[...] has confirmed to me, on Thursday, March 28, his agreement to move to Place Bonaventure. He has advised me that this has been cleared up with Mr. Drouin, Secretary of State for DEC.
Our Minister's office, as I understand it, has not given us the OK to proceed. The offer from the lowest bidder expires today [...] .
And then they go on to put an extension in. So the minister's office, up until that point--your predecessor--was deeply engaged in this whole process, and this is another go.
Then we get the letter from Mr. Drouin out of the clear blue, and the best I ever heard him say was that staff were upset. It would seem to me if that is such a huge criterion, and I wish it was taken into account more often, you would have done it at the front end, not at the rear end. Certainly, people complaining six weeks after a multi-million dollar contract is signed, in the normal world, is not going to turn things upside down.
I am still having trouble understanding why you wouldn't ask more questions and be concerned--red alarms going off. This was not a normal process. A junior minister has upset a public tender process and you okayed it. You gave it the sanction of your signature.