Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As we note in the report, we disagree with the description of these helicopters as being off the shelf. There were significant modifications that were needed to the Chinook. In fact, at that time, even in 2006, National Defence itself recognized that there would be modifications that would be required.
I doubt, at the time, that they realized the full extent of the modifications because they actually didn't define the full set of requirements until three years later. During those three years, they continued to look at design, their requirements, and I guess request additional modifications.
Obviously, rating this project as low risk to medium risk would not have adequately informed decision-makers about the potential risks, both to increasing cost and to project delays that subsequently occur.