Regrettably, Mr. Speaker, the previous government made a bad decision when it agreed to negotiate contracts to purchase the helicopters. In keeping with the promises we made during the election campaign and with our conviction that this course of action was best for Canada, this government had no choice but to cancel these contracts.
The people of Canada voted for us, understanding that we were going to cancel the contracts. It is unfortunate that some will lose as a result of that. In the final analysis this decision was made for the right reasons and done on the basis of the support of the people of Canada.