Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly’s department ordered more than $523,000 worth of furniture in a one-day spending spree this past March 31, records show. Cabinet has long denied the phenomenon of “March Madness,” a yearly blitz that sees departments burn through unspent budgets in the dying hours of the fiscal year.

“Furniture is purchased on a regular basis as part of the department’s standard furniture replacement cycle,” cabinet wrote in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons. “The Government of Canada acquires and manages furniture in an effective and economical way.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs did not explain its sudden requirement for furniture on the final day of the fiscal year. “In addition to providing furniture in offices, Canadian staff working abroad in some countries are also provided with furniture in their assigned staff quarters in order to carry out their work and life abroad in an efficient, economic, productive and safe manner,” said the Inquiry.