Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll pick up on my previous question right away.
We heard your criteria for awarding contracts on a non‑competitive basis. We're familiar with these criteria. This isn't the issue. My question concerned the proportion of these contracts within the government.
By 2023, with the pandemic over, an emergency exception could no longer be invoked. Financial reasons aren't at stake either. We're seeing contracts over $100,000 awarded on a non‑competitive basis.
Is it normal that, under these circumstances, departments such as Public Services and Procurement Canada have awarded 27% of their contracts, or over a quarter of their contracts, through a non‑competitive process?
In other words, is it normal for the government to have awarded 7,600 contracts on a non‑competitive basis in 2023 alone?