That is correct.
I have a quick question, further to Colonel Drapeau's comments. I am a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and as such, I examine the Auditor General's reports. In fact, two reports are currently before our committee. One focuses on military acquisitions, while the other pertains to program evaluation.
In your submission, Colonel Drapeau, you stress the issue of governance, that is the need for DND to have some control over its budget and the acquisition of major weapons systems. When we questioned them about these matters, senior DND and PWGSC officials presented us with a list of concerns. We were quite surprised to hear them say that right now there are, unfortunately, no rules in place to determine what effectively constitutes an urgent acquisition. They said they were not in a position to make acquisitions quickly.
Unfortunately, an emergency situation now exists as a result of the following incidents: the deployment of soldiers who are improperly equipped, the mismanagement of the equipment sent to this theatre, inadequate inventories, and Leopard C1 and C2 tanks that are unable to transport needed military equipment to the theatre of operations.
I would like to hear your thoughts on military acquisitions. What role could we play in the process? In terms of control mechanisms, what kind of improvements could be made within the different departments? At present, DND has a special unit that works more closely with PWGSC. We know about the procedure that is being followed. However, in terms of core acquisitions, it is difficult to evaluate programs, to determine what the future holds and to make acquisitions on an urgent basis.