Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Madam Minister, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's latest report, the budget for warships has increased by a further 9%. We know that the pandemic has resulted in increased costs. That is in particular the result of supply chain delays, absences and leave. The fact remains that a 9% increase is more that what can be attributed to the pandemic itself.
When I heard you say earlier that progress had been made, I was startled once again. On the one hand, you seem to disregard the explosion in prices. On the other, it seems like you are putting a heavy lid on the elephant in the room, in this case Davie Shipbuilding, which is still not officially part of the agreement although it accounts for 50% of the naval construction capacity in Canada. To my knowledge, the framework agreement has not yet been signed, but perhaps you will be pulling a great white rabbit out of your hat this afternoon.
How can you say that things are progressing well?
Earlier you said that the aircraft contract would be signed shortly, since negotiations were proceeding well. Yet you made no mention of the third partner.
I am not asking you to disclose confidential information from the negotiations, but I would like to know how you can say things are going smoothly and that we are making progress when costs have exploded and there is no mention of the framework agreement.