Again, Mr. Speaker, all contracts that are in question here were let in an open and transparent way. All requests for proposals had criteria and in fact the whole import of any involvement on the part of the then minister of finance's office was to ensure that more firms were able to bid so that in fact they could be assured that the taxpayers of Canada got the very best quality product for their money.
In the House of Commons on April 23rd, 2004. See this statement in context.