Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have two brief questions to ask and I will be sharing my time with Mr. Martin.
Thank you very much, Ms. Fraser. I intend to introduce a motion to the committee, stating that we would like the Auditor General to investigate the current contracts, particularly those concerning the C-17s, tactical airlift, trucks and so on. It is time we take a closer look at what is going on in that area. Do you think it is right or does it worry you that the military community and the procurement community sometimes appear to be a closed circle? There are people within the Department of National Defence who define the criteria. It is a very secretive business. We are left with the impression that the management of this issue... Basically, the important thing is that there are people within DND who are saying that this is what they want and they are going to arrange things so that they get it. Do you not think that one problem stems from the advance contract award notice, or ACAN? Do you not feel we need a much more competitive system and some sort of filter between the two, which would create a balance and serve as devil's advocate in order to ensure proper criteria?
My second question is this. In order to protect the perception of the process, if a minister had too many clients in the military procurement service, do you think that he should recuse himself when a procurement process is initiated? We are talking about $17 billion, $13 billion of which went without a tendering process. I would like to hear your comments on this.