Public Accounts committee  The Department of Public Works decided to begin discussions…

Public Accounts committee  Who decided what?

Public Accounts committee  I already answered that question.

Public Accounts committee  Indeed, following Mr. Drouin's letter, the Department of Public Works decided to begin discussions with people at Place Victoria. That is absolutely true. I should also say that Mr. Drouin's letter surprised me, but my explanation would be that Mr. Drouin had only held his position for a few weeks when these events occurred.

Public Accounts committee  Yes. On April 15 of that same year—in other words, a few weeks later—Mr. Claude Drouin wrote a letter, which you have as part of your documentation, asking the Minister of Public Works and Government Services whether it would be possible to stay at Place Victoria.

Public Accounts committee  Subsequently, Public Works and Government Services staff decided to begin discussions with the managers of Place Victoria, the Stock Exchange Tower, which yielded the result that you are all aware of.

Public Accounts committee  I would just like to make two brief comments.

Public Accounts committee  The Department of Public Works.

Public Accounts committee  The Minister of Public Works signed a letter.

Public Accounts committee  The only difference here is that at previous meetings, my former colleagues from Public Works cast doubt on those figures.

Public Accounts committee  We did not have to pay for the office space at Place Bonaventure. The Department of Public Works and people representing the Department told you at previous appearances that they believed they could easily lease that space.

Public Accounts committee  They're the ones who could answer that question.

Public Accounts committee  Perhaps I could just give you a very simple summary of responsibilities in this area. Whenever a move, a lease negotiation or anything of that nature is involved, the client department is responsible for identifying all of its requirements and forwarding that information to the Department of Public Works, which is responsible for the tendering process, negotiating with owners, and so.

Public Accounts committee  Well, I mentioned that there was one improvement made with respect to handicapped access. That was done. If there were other consultations between Public Works staff and staff at my own Agency, I can only say that I was not directly involved in them. I had a file manager. Mr. Drouin…

Public Accounts committee  My file manager was Mr. Pierre Bordeleau. He was in charge of Administrative and Financial Services at the Agency. He may have heard about this, but I was not directly consulted.