Thank you, Mr. Chair, and welcome to all of our witnesses.
It seems we have all of the people, save the Auditor General, who made these decisions, so it's a good place to ask, first of all, a general question.
We are looking at the acquisition of what turns out to be $11 billion worth of military hardware and support, and it's worth asking the question. For example, the Cyclone project--the project that in 2003 was estimated to cost $2.8 billion--is now going to cost $5.7 billion and is seven years too late. Indeed, the first 19 of the 28 will not be able to be used. According to the Auditor General, they'll only be suitable for testing, evaluation, and training, and will not be able to be deployed on operations.
She also said in her remarks this morning that the “...process was not fair, open, and transparent”.
I want to ask the people responsible for making these decisions and delivering on these projects how it can be acceptable to the Canadian public that we have doubled the cost and are seven years late on the Cyclone project, in a process the Auditor General calls unfair, not open, and not transparent. Why is that acceptable to the Canadian public? What is the succinct explanation that I and all of us can take home to our constituents as to how this happens?