There's a lot in your question. I think I will sum it up by saying that what you're highlighting is what I call an "accountability void".
When a program is given to a Crown corporation—recognizing that a Crown corporation is supposed to remain at arm's length from the Government of Canada—it means that the departments providing direction need to exercise better oversight. That's where the Department of Finance and Global Affairs, in my mind, failed in their responsibility.
When you have an accountability void, where roles and responsibilities aren't clear, the outcome, for me, is that no one is keeping an eye on the costs. There were poor management decisions about contracts that didn't go challenged, but also no spending limits. That's why we concluded that, while the program met its objectives of getting funding quickly to businesses, the value for money was compromised by the extremely poor contract management by Export Development Canada, and by lack of oversight by the two departments that should have been providing it.