The Defence Chief of Staff, Gen. Hillier, said:
“I am reluctant to buy a paper anything.”
If your role consists in protecting the taxpayer, you are responsible for the transparency of the process and for making sure that funds are properly spent. You have to satisfy the needs of National Defence, but you must also make sure that the funds are properly spent and that the clients have really been consulted to make sure that the process is competitive.
Regardless of the fact that the Liberal Party said that the planes could have been rented rather than purchased, the procurement process exists, because you have had the Airbus A400Ms and the Boeing C-17s for six years. But if you draw a line in the sand during the process, you are, in a way, eliminating competition.
How can a process be competitive if the cards are stacked and we know what the chief wants? Therefore, your role is confined to meeting the client's needs.