Public Accounts committee  If the decision had been made to change the accounting treatment, the result would have been that supplementary appropriations would have been required, yes.

Public Accounts committee  Well, it was intimately wrapped up with it. I'm not sure you can distinguish the two.

Public Accounts committee  There was no crisis, but there was certainly a need to proceed expeditiously because the deadline for supplementary estimates, should it be decided that was the route to go, was very shortly thereafter--I don't know which date it was, but it was only a few days after.

Public Accounts committee  No.

Public Accounts committee  He said nothing that I can recall at all, and certainly nothing of any substance.

Public Accounts committee  No.

Public Accounts committee  It's certainly not unusual.

Public Accounts committee  I guess I don't agree with the premise of the question.

Public Accounts committee  I was not involved in the agreement in principle, so I can't question it.

Public Accounts committee  No, not in my department, Mr. Williams, but in the Firearms Centre and the public works department.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, and I'm not with Public Works.

Public Accounts committee  I've never been with Public Works.

Public Accounts committee  Because, Mr. Williams, there were people proposing to change the accounting treatment from what had been the case before, so obviously it was not a clear-cut accounting issue, or presumably the accountants the year before would have done it in a clear-cut way or differently. So—

Public Accounts committee  No, I was actually in the middle of a sentence. So I knew the issue was not clear cut; I knew it was complicated, which was the very reason I wanted to make sure that all of those who might have had something valuable to add were at the meeting, and I also wanted to make sure that all options had been canvassed, which I consider my job.

Public Accounts committee  Not before the legal opinion. I believe I had a brief discussion with the minister's chief of staff, when it became apparent there was a possibility of supps.