Thank you, Mr. Bains.
I don't have a lot of time, and you've already said that.
When it comes to the process of appointing someone, the fact that Ms. Verschuren had an apparent conflict of interest and that the president and CEO of SDTC had flagged it several times is highly pertinent information.
You were the minister for more than five years and appointing this individual was the minister's responsibility. Don't you think, then, that it is the assistant deputy minister's job to advise the deputy minister of a major conflict of interest in relation to an appointment process? In this case, the minister's office and, by extension, the minister should have been informed as well.
Did you just have blind trust in the department?