Thank you very much for the question.
There are cost controls within our participation in the MOU. Perhaps I should go back to some basics, because I'm not sure that's clearly understood.
This committee has been told that we will be procuring the aircraft through the MOU, and all our needs will be put forth to the JSF program office, together with those of all the other partners. Each year all of those needs are collectively negotiated with Lockheed Martin and the other prime contractors. Similarly, our sustainment costs will be actioned in a collective way. So we will not be acting unilaterally; we will be acting collectively through the JSF program.
Through our participation in the JSF program we have visibility on all of the costs. The team from the JSF program office negotiates with the prime contractors led by Lockheed Martin. We have Canadians participating in that team as members of the JSF program office, and we also have observers.
Finally, before any of these contracts with Lockheed Martin are finalized for procurement or sustainment, the details of them are put back to the executive steering board on which we have a member who has an equal vote with all of the other partners, and a veto vote, in that the JSF executive steering board seeks unanimous agreement on all of these types of arrangements. Through that process we will be able to monitor and control the costs to Canada for the procurement and sustainment of the aircraft.