moved:
That the House condemn the government for having dropped the Canadian content requirements in the contracts for the purchase of military equipment and refusing to set up a genuine program for the conversion of the military industry, thus endangering the Canadian aerospace industry located in Montreal.
Mr. Speaker, my remarks in support of the motion I put forward will certainly go beyond this motion concerning the latest statements made by the defence minister and the Department of National Defence about the acquisition of certain pieces of equipment.
First of all, this motion condemns the government for having dropped the Canadian content requirements in the latest helicopter contract announcement, when this condition was clearly respected and even required in previous contracts.
I started by reviewing how this matter had evolved, a situation that has prompted us to table this motion. During the summer, the minister of defence announced the acquisition of British submarines, which were to cost $1.6 billion excluding maintenance, staff training, and renovations.