Thank you, Minister, for being here with us today. I think you'll agree, as our committee feels, it's very important that the minister come to speak to and defend the main estimates in particular, especially with such a multi-faceted and diverse portfolio as you represent.
As the oversight committee for Public Works and all of the undertakings of Public Works, I can only say that one hour isn't really adequate for our committee to speak to you. I wish you ministers would reconsider the principle that you can't afford to give more than one hour to the oversight committee that you are coming to ask permission from to spend money. It's an important principle that I think we should reiterate at every parliamentary committee.
Having said that, I appreciate your remarks today.
We looked through the main estimates and the report on plans and priorities very carefully, but the one thing that comes to mind for me, and which I'd like to spend my time on, is a newspaper article that was released late yesterday, the day before the minister is to come before our parliamentary committee to speak to what is the largest single military procurement in Canadian history. Now we learn the government is delaying its current schedule to sign the contract for the initial delivery of the F-35s until after the next federal election. I'd like to better understand what the reasoning is for this.
You, Minister, have the dubious honour of being about the fifth minister to have to field this particular hot potato of a file, but wouldn't it be fair to Canadians to tell them? Are you or are you not going to buy this aircraft? Will there be an open competition? How much is it going to cost? We need to know that before we go into the next federal election, not after. Can you shed any light on this recent announcement which I think only came out at 10 o’clock last night?