Thank you, Madam Chair.
Minister, I'm very pleased to see you. We don't often have the opportunity to see you at the House of Commons. I will take advantage of your being here to talk about a variety of subjects. The first concerns procurement, which you have touched upon briefly. There is an impression that the bidding rules in the C-17 aircraft contracts were changed to benefit one single bidder, Boeing. It's quite obvious.
However, that is not what my question is about, it is about ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, that is forcing Canadian companies that obtain defence-related contracts from the American government to comply with certain rules. These Canadian companies are subject to highly rigid constraints. One restriction prevents the company from deciding who it wishes to hire. There is a list of countries, and if an employee comes from one of those countries listed, their services cannot be used. This is what I call discrimination based on birth place, which to my mind is in clear violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and undermines Canadian sovereignty as well.
I'm wondering how you can accept such a situation.