I cannot judge to what extent individual companies were affected, but when we talk about defence procurement, we potentially have to be able to do it under very challenging circumstances. Imagine if we had to do this in a situation where Canada was at war or in an adversarial conflict with another country.
We can see that now, when our allies are coming to us and asking what we are going to contribute, not only are our cupboards bare, but we have processes that cause the Department of Commerce in the United States to deem Canada among the most difficult and convoluted places in the world to do defence procurement. I think that is a badge of honour we do not want to be wearing. It means that federal governments are not in a position....
A fundamental function of any government is to defend the country, defend the continent, and defend our allies. Our procurement system is not able to deliver on those fundamental basic obligations that a government has for its citizens.