Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to go back to what the minister explained to us earlier. The logic has been reversed with the new military procurement process. This process allows for a reduction in the time between when a call for tenders is issued to the industry, and the moment when the industry may submit bids. However, it does take some time before such a bid can be put together.
I will take Irving Shipbuilding as an example. Let's imagine that a company manufactures propellers in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and wants to bid on a project. How did you change the old method so as to allow businesses to have access to these new projects? For instance, Service Marine Canada in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu told me that it could not bid on these calls for tenders because it is like a private club. The smaller businesses become the subcontractors of these large businesses that contract out orders. It is a private club.
How have you changed the way things are done to give smaller businesses access to these calls for tenders?