Government Operations committee  Yes, this is definitely something that Global Affairs has addressed. Perhaps I can turn to my colleague Dan Pilon, who can provide you with some additional details.

Government Operations committee  I'm not aware of any contracts in that area that I could speak to.

Government Operations committee  In this particular incident, again, it was the position of the department that this wasn't necessarily wrongdoing. This was more of an error on her part, and she really shouldn't have signed it. She was acting on behalf of her manager. The invoice came in, and I think she should have waited and had that invoice signed off when her supervisor returned.

Government Operations committee  Under the FAA, the deputy head is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the Financial Administration Act is respected. Obviously, as the chief financial officer within the department, I have a very important role, as does our auditor. It really is to make sure that the necessary controls are in place to ensure that the Financial Administration Act is respected.

Government Operations committee  If I go back to 2017-18 and the number of contracts that the department entered into, we're looking at about 1,500 contracts. In comparison, in 2023-24, the volume of contracts has decreased significantly. It's almost by half, so 7,676. I think these numbers reflect and are in line with the direction of the government, if you think about the recent refocusing government spending exercise.

Government Operations committee  I welcome the opportunity to clarify that particular situation. Concerning the one instance in the audit where an individual benefited from the transaction, it was a contract put in place for coaching services for one of our managers within the department. The contract was for a value of under $5,000, and it was split over two fiscal years.

Government Operations committee  In this particular instance, what happened was the employee put in place a contract for coaching services. When the invoice came in, the invoice was scheduled to be paid by her manager from her manager's fund centre. In this instance, that manager was actually acting on behalf of her manager when the invoice came in, and she signed for that contract.

Government Operations committee  Unfortunately, I don't have that information.

Government Operations committee  Yes, absolutely.

Government Operations committee  I think we would have to have further details on what you're asking for.

Government Operations committee  I'll take that back to the department. We'll provide you with information accordingly.

Government Operations committee  There are a couple of figures that I can give you. Over the last five years, the department has entered into contracts worth over $3 billion. These contracts span a number of areas, including our security guards in missions abroad, construction and various services. There's a vast array of procurement and contracting that the department does.

Government Operations committee  Our department has some funding reserved specifically to address issues at our embassies relating to security. It's called our duty of care. Certainly, we enter into some contracts using that source of funds. Those contracts are predominantly for hiring security guards, for example, at our missions abroad.

Government Operations committee  In terms of the three instances where contract splitting was mentioned in the audit, I'll just say that those were six relatively low-dollar value—

Government Operations committee  Who benefited? Maybe first I can just address the—