Public Accounts committee  Yes, sir. Given the fact that they got another company to do it, the member was still subject to that ceiling price, which was zero.

Public Accounts committee  No, sir.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, Mr. Chairman, we are.

Public Accounts committee  Assistant Auditor General.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, if the contract was awarded in another process through a fair and transparent manner, that would help preserve the integrity of the process.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, as the Auditor General said the last time we met, that's a decision for government. I don't know what other options they have available to them.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, I think Mr. Sloan will add a little bit of light to how those calculations would have impacted.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, Mr. Chairman, that's correct. The information was readily available.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, yes, twice, in writing, bidders asked specifically for information in relation to the property management services volumes.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, and the other one was a potential bidder.

Public Accounts committee  Not that I'm aware of.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will take a few seconds to go back to an issue I raised in my opening statement, and that is the need for incentives in the system--incentives for good management. I think there has been a lot of talk around 800 Place Victoria. Mr. Marshall did say that departments are accountable for the decisions they make to move or not move, but in this case, that $4.6 million came out of the Public Works budget.

Public Accounts committee  If I may, Mr. Chair, I'll ask Mr. Sloan to do that.

Public Accounts committee  Merci, monsieur le président. Yes. Certainly in comparison with what we found in 2002, we are satisfied the department is doing the analysis that we would expect them to do.

Public Accounts committee  The committee may wish to ask PWGSC and the Treasury Board Secretariat to establish a timeframe within which they will create funding mechanisms that will allow the department to select and implement the most cost-effective accommodation options. In 2002 we reported that PWGSC needed to strengthen the integrity and availability of information to support the management of the acquisition of office space.