Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Honestly, I am scandalized by what I am hearing today; that is how I feel. I think we are making fools of ourselves and Canadians are being made fools of.
Mr. Finn, you just said you want it to be effective in the next ten years. How can we believe you? Today you presented a plan for 2016, with a deadline that will be extended. The steps in the 2013 and 2016 plans do not match and are postponed to a later date.
My colleague said earlier that private companies manage their inventory, what is going out and what is coming in. Depending on the company size, part of their inventory remains on the shelves, of course, but it is recorded.
We are in 2016. With the systems that exist today, I do not understand how National Defence cannot maintain a proper inventory of its equipment.
It is very simple. There are three kinds of stock. Stocks from the past can be recorded. Determine their value based on expert calculations, whether it has increased or decreased, but at least we would have an indication. For the current stock, the value is not hard to determine: it equals the purchase price. As to the future stock, you have to decide how you will manage it and then harmonize it all after that.
Does National Defence not have trade services that who could do this? If you truly intend to find a solution, you can use departmental staff. But is there the will to do it?
That is the question I have to ask myself. I do not feel the will. You are full of good faith, and I do not mean you personally. That said, I do not feel you are taking the necessary steps to achieve your objectives.
My comments before the committee are always the same. The Auditor General conducts audits and you testify about them. Mr. Forster, I am not sure that you will be relieved at 5:30, because you will simply postpone it to another meeting. The fact that you are taking part in this exercise is a step in the right direction, but that is not what I want. In fact, I do not want to see you. It would be a good sign if I didn't see you because that would mean the Canadian Forces' inventory was being done properly, and the committee could then focus on something else.
NATO is now calling on Canada to invest more money. How will we as parliamentarians vote when, in 2016, we cannot track our inventory properly?
I am not very comfortable or assured. How can you reassure us and give Canadians confidence in the management of your inventory? We know that National Defence has a huge budget in Canada. We have to respect Canadian taxpayers who invest in this department with their taxes; that is the minimum. I am asking you to reassure us today so we can move forward in the right direction.
You are saying things, but I am having trouble believing you. I am willing to give people a chance. Can you reassure us and confirm that you will take the necessary steps?