OTTAWA — The purchase of the new residence of Canada’s consul general in New York by Global Affairs Canada was not approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) because it was just below the threshold that jumped to $10 million in 2022.

On Tuesday, senior public servants from TBS and Public Works were called to the first of three meetings of a House of Commons committee to explain the government’s recent decision to buy a $9-million luxury condo on Manhattan’s “Billionaire’s Row.”