Evidence of meeting #42 for Public Accounts in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cost.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Forgive me, Mr. Ross and Mr. Fonberg, but could you also include the benefits that accrue to Canada in your description of how this works, and exactly what role we play?
Thank you.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Materiel, Department of National Defence
In terms of the joint project office, it was created in the mid-1990s under the Americans, because they were pursuing a lightweight fighter replacement for a number of fleets, F-14, F-15s, F-16s, and their Harriers used by the United States Marine Corps. They stated the requirement for a stealthy supersonic aircraft that could meet all those roles.
The JPO, the joint strike fighter program office, has grown to 1,700 people: 1,600 Americans and 100 military and civilian personnel from the partner countries. It's composed of world-class experts in aircraft design, in technology development, testing, costing, and program management. We have five full-time members in the joint project office in Washington. Our first member joined in 1998.
Thank you.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
I appreciate the time is running out, Mr. Chair. The questions I asked regarding the costing and the estimates and the benefits, who runs it, what it does, may I through the chair respectfully request the Department of National Defence to table that information for all of us?
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
Madam Bateman, you still have the floor. You're good for a minute.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Oh, well, then.... Okay, I'm good for a minute. Was that the bell?
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
To clarify, if I could, sir, the request that we've made in writing--and I thank you for this latitude--how does membership in this joint project office benefit Canada? That's of real interest to me. What role does the joint project office play in Canada's costing and estimates?
Now, of course I respect the bell and the chair.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
We're okay. We're not voting for a while yet. We're only down the hall, so we can conclude our time. You still have a couple of moments if you want. Are you good?
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
I want to ask a couple of quick questions.
I want to confirm the $9 billion to $10 billion that's available, potentially, for Canadian industry. That's a global figure, correct? Everybody participating in the development would also be available to bid on that, right? That's not just a captive market for Canada?
Senior Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
That's an estimate of the opportunities to Canadian firms as a result of their participation in this process, given the estimated build of 3,100 planes.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
But it's not an exclusive bidding by us, is it? There is a competition that others will be participating in, isn't that correct?
Senior Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
This is the estimated slice of the pie for Canada. The actual cost of building this and the contracts available internationally would be much larger. This is an estimate of the opportunities Canada would be able to capture.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
This is the portion of it that you believe we will get, but there are no guarantees. It's still a competition, isn't it?
Senior Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
There are no guarantees.
Conservative
Andrew Saxton Conservative North Vancouver, BC
Mr. Chair, the bells are ringing. I think we should get going.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
I understand that, but let me ask one more question.
I know that no money has been spent on acquisition. There has been over $300 million spent. If we don't go ahead with the development of the F-35, do we get any of that hundreds of millions of dollars back?
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
Thank you. That's what I wanted to know.
With that, the bells are ringing, and our time has expired. My thanks to our guests. We appreciate your being here, especially twice in a row.
Colleagues, this meeting stands adjourned.