I'll respond this way, Mr. Dosanjh. You, as a member of the previous government, are not on the outside. You have a very privileged position, having seen the detail and the important decision-making that goes into military procurements.
I hesitate to reference the cancellation of helicopter programs by your government and the impact that has had on our Canadian military, or the cuts that they suffered under your administration. What I will say is that our Minister of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff are working very closely with officials to make the proper decisions and pursuing the needs of the military first and foremost. I would suggest that in a relatively short time, just over 100 days, we have made progress in deciding what it is exactly that the military needs.
In terms of strategic lift, you're absolutely right to suggest that the needs have changed. As far as modern equipment and the transporting of troops are concerned, not only in Afghanistan but in other missions that we may be involved in, in the future it's going to be very important to have that strategic heavy lift.
I saw, for example, the equipment that's being used by other countries, including the Chinook helicopters, the Black Hawk helicopters. We are very much behind as a result of the previous government's refusal to purchase replacements.