This letter is very important because it gives irrefutable evidence that there was at least one Canadian owner who was very much interested in buying the interests in Ginn. The letter is dated May 7, 1993 and is signed by Mr. Ronald Besse, chairman and president of Canada Publishing Corporation. It is addressed to Mr. Patrick Keenan, then chairman of CDIC, and reads as follows:
Dear Mr. Keenan:
I would like to formally express my interest in purchasing the 51 per cent equity held in Ginn Publishing by the Canadian government. We are a successful educational publisher, 100 per cent Canadian owned, and we have identified Ginn as a company with excellent synergies with our future business plans.
Would you please have someone contact me if you are interested in selling this equity position.
We have this evidence. The government felt obligated to say no to the transaction. Why did it not say yes? The only answer is that-