Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I will repeat my question. Did the government originally propose to buy 18 new F-18s because it knew this would give Boeing an advantage in a future bidding process?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the current Liberal government has an abysmal track record when it comes to negotiating with our key partners, especially the United States. The negotiations on the new free trade agreement were a total disaster. Then, the U.S. President called Canada a freeloader for not meeting the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, Canadian aerospace companies have the extensive knowledge and experience needed to participate in F-35 development. Can the minister tell us how many jobs will be lost if Canada gets kicked out of the joint strike fighter program?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I was talking about the F-35s. Canada has aerospace companies. Can the minister tell us how many jobs will be lost if Canada gets kicked out of the joint strike fighter program?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, considering the government's ongoing problems with this file, will the minister acknowledge that the Prime Minister's 2015 promise to scrap the F-35s and hold an open competition was ill-advised defence policy that ran contrary to Canada's interests?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, what does the minister think is the best fighter jet for the Royal Canadian Air Force?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, if we were to ask Lieutenant-General Yvan Blondin for his opinion, does the minister know what he would say?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, if we were to ask Lieutenant-General Michael Hood for his opinion, does the minister know what he would say?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I am asking these questions because some criticisms have been raised. People are saying that the Minister of National Defence is not listening to the very experts who have to work with the equipment he choses for them. Why was Lieutenant-General Michael Hood, the former air force commander, not consulted about the main policy changes that led to the creation of a fake capability gap to justify the purchase of 18 Super Hornets?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, on February 23, 2017, 13 retired generals signed a letter to let the Prime Minister know that buying Super Hornets was a very bad idea. Why did the minister ignore these 13 generals?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute found that 67.5% of national defence experts think there is no capability gap. Will the government finally admit that it invented this capability gap as a political ploy to cover up its own failings in defence procurement?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, it is my pleasure to be here today. It is a first for me. Most of our allies have successfully chosen new fighter jets within a year. The Liberals have been in power for three and a half years and have yet to hold a competition, which they have postponed once again, until July.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, our F-18 fleet is aging. Everyone agrees that it is in the national interest to get a new fleet very soon . The longer the government extends the use of our F-18s, the more thousands of brave Canadians in uniform are risking their lives. It is no surprise that we have a shortage of pilots.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the Canadian government's policy on technological and industrial benefits recently caused some problems in the competition for new fighter jets. The government knew full well that it could not expect Lockheed Martin to provide these benefits since Canada is a partner in the joint strike fighter program and signed a memorandum of understanding allowing Canadian companies to participate in manufacturing F-35s.

Interests of Quebec  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government was not ready to manage our country. Its spending is out of control, and it is accumulating permanent deficits. Now the Liberals are doing what they have always done best, which is bickering. They are infighting, arguing with the provinces on the carbon tax, and rekindling old quarrels with Quebec by refusing to respect provincial jurisdictions.