I think that the points raised
are the same that would have to be put forward.
The purchase of an aircraft like this is based on two criteria. The first is whether it will meet our operational requirements. That appears to be well identified and acknowledged. What we feel is important—and this is what we are advising the government given our experience—is trying to gain the best possible understanding of the long-term impact, in other words the in-service support. We are prepared, and this is the least we can do—to participate and help people working on the file to determine as precisely as possible, from a Canadian perspective, what requirements should be included in an agreement like that.
Experience has shown that negotiating these elements early on, when the procurement contract is being negotiated, is important. It seems that in some cases, once the procurement contract is signed, it is much more difficult to get all of the aspects that we would like to see included.