Mr. Speaker, it is my information that the contract in question was in fact awarded by the Department of Public Works and Government Services on behalf of the Department of Canadian Heritage. I am advised that the choice of Groupe Everest was made by officials in my department on the basis of the agency's standing offer with the department. That standing offer was established by a competitive process.
In the House of Commons on October 4th, 2002. See this statement in context.