Now I want to discuss ITAR. What do you know about ITAR, Mr. Minister? As the minister responsible for the Montreal region, you know that Bell Helicopter has a share of the aerospace contracts, especially for defence. The other House asked you whether the next purchasing contract would be submitted to ITAR, and you answered that it was ITAR-friendly.
I want to reassure the honourable senator, however,
—je crois qu'il parle du sénateur Prud'homme—
that with respect to the purchase of the planes we have been talking about for the past 20 minutes, nothing in that contract will prevent any Canadian of any religion or nationality from working on those planes, flying them or being part of our Canadian Forces program related to that aircraft.
Was it because you were not informed about your file, or because you did not understand the process? At this time, not only has the contract been drafted and signed, but ITAR is being applied. Unfortunately, given that this is a direct commercial sale, which means that it is a direct transaction between the Canadian government and Boeing, we will be faced with an unsolvable problem because two countries are involved.
Why did you not arrange for a foreign military sale, or sign a memorandum to protect Canada above all, its sovereignty, and its Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Why do we have to apply ITAR, and are you being forced to negotiate after the fact?