Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We've talked about a lot of the costs involved—for example, the billion dollars that we need for the new IT system, the inventory system—but there's also a tremendous cost to doing nothing, and these costs are both financial and non-financial.
For example, when we look at the inventory itself, we need inventory to support inventory. You need to put these out-of-date materials in boxes or on shelves. You need capital cost warehouses and storage areas to house them.
There is also over-purchasing. If you don't know that you have an extra helicopter propeller somewhere in B.C., you might just order a new one and then buy it again for no particular reason other than not knowing what you have.
There's also an unmeasured cost, and that is where it really bothers me, because if that helicopter doesn't get that new propeller, then that helicopter stays on the ground, and then our people are not able to do the work that they're set out to do.
Mr. Christopherson talked about NATO and talked about how Canada is appreciated. I heard from the U.S. president when he came and spoke to our Parliament that we need more Canada in the world. To me, our Canadian Armed Forces are truly amazing. They're just brilliant, amazing people who have dedicated themselves.
Other than looking at the cost of implementing the changes that we need, I want to know if your department has actually articulated the costs that are involved in doing nothing? How much does it cost, for example, to house all this inventory, particularly inventory that we may not need?