Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.
The $87 million awarded to Bombardier through technology partnerships Canada is supposed to represent one third of the contributions required for the RJ-X project. Yet at the time of the announcement the board of directors of Bombardier had still not given approval to the project.
Why did the minister commit $87 million of taxpayer money before Bombardier was prepared to make a commitment to the project itself?