Before this committee, deputy minister Simon Kennedy said he was not aware of any of the conflicts until the whistle-blower came to him in 2023.
Do you think it's possible for the minister's office to appoint somebody when they've been notified of a conflict by the associate deputy minister, who presumably reports to the deputy minister? The deputy minister talks to the minister. Could the deputy minister claim he didn't know about these conflicts? Does that make any sense to you?