Thank you very much.
Yes, in fact, these exchanges between the minister's office and officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade are a regular and normal occurrence. In fact, it's an essential and valuable exchanges that takes place between the minister's office and experts in the department.
In the context we're talking about now--the use of language and terminology--the focus there is to find the best ways to communicate Canadian policy to different audiences. In terms of substance, of course, it is a regular occurrence for the minister's office and the experts in the department to talk about policy issues, so the best advice from the officials can be provided to the minister's office and the officials can understand more clearly the desired directions of the minister's office on policy terms.
You had asked about some other examples of where this sort of exchange takes place. It's essentially a daily occurrence in the department and I suspect in other departments across the federal government. When I was in the minister's office, a policy area that had become quite important for Canada, and where the Minister of Foreign Affairs was actively engaged, was Canada's Arctic policy. In that area, we had experts from across the Department of Foreign Affairs--and in some cases, from other ministries--joining discussions with the minister's office to discuss policy directions in that area. That was an issue area that I think was particularly important during the time when I was in the minister's office.