Thank you for the question.
Because of the nature of the relationship and because the Department of National Defence has over the years obviously bought significant military equipment, Public Works has a number of employees who are embedded at the defence department. So there is a relationship where we come in as early as possible in the procurement stage. The Department of National Defence obviously needs to identify its needs, which I think is normal in the circumstances, and then we ensure that we prepare the bid so that there are as many bidders as possible for the piece of equipment that's being sought.
The concern I have had, Mr. Kramp, is the number of years.... When I became minister I was startled to see that in some cases it had taken 188 months for projects between the time when a need was identified within the Department of National Defence and the time that it took for this particular asset to find itself in the hands of National Defence.
So I think there has to be a better way of doing this, which is what I and Minister O'Connor and Minister Toews and our officials have been working on in terms of streamlining the procurement process, making sure that we always deliver the best deal possible for taxpayers, deliver the best equipment possible for our troops, but do it quicker than 188 months.