Mr. Speaker, you have been more than generous to the people who have preceded me and I appreciate that.
I am here tonight in relation to a question regarding Lancaster Aviation which I have asked the Minister of National Defence on a number of occasions.
Lancaster Aviation, for the benefit of the general public and those who are interested, was awarded a contract by the federal government in 1997 to sell surplus military equipment spare parts. The concern is that the spare parts contract grew to include, without a tender process, 10 Challenger jets and 40 helicopters, far exceeding the original contract.
How could a company such as Lancaster Aviation go from selling spare parts to selling 10 Challenger aircraft and 40 helicopters? It is very obvious. There was an escape clause in the contract that allowed the government to do this. I guess it did it to reward its friends, if it wished.
We have a number of concerns on this file, one of them being that the Challenger aircraft, which were Government of Canada aircraft, were sold on the international market by a company called Lancaster for less than 50% of their value. The helicopters were sold in the same fashion. How is something like that allowed to happen?
Then we found out that Lancaster Aviation closed its doors in Milton, Ontario. It took the equipment, up to $70 million worth of Canadian goods owned by the Government of Canada, and housed it in Florida in a warehouse owned by a convicted felon who is under contract with Lancaster Aviation.
Our concern is how and why those spare parts were allowed to leave Canada. Lancaster Aviation closed up its operations, closed its warehouse in Canada, only to move goods owned by the Government of Canada across the border.
Incidentally, the individual has not yet been sentenced, but he is up on money laundering charges and on leading an international prostitution ring. We do not consider the individual to be a good corporate citizen.
My question to the parliamentary secretary is simple. Why would the Government of Canada allow this to happen? What security do we have on the assets now lying in a warehouse in Florida owned by a convicted felon who is awaiting sentencing? The laundered money was through the selling of drugs. What happens to his assets? What happens to the contractual agreement between Lancaster Aviation and the individual in Florida? How much at risk are the parts owned by the Government of Canada?
I have a second part to my question. When did the Government of Canada realize that its goods were stored in a warehouse owned by a convicted felon? When did the minister know, how much did he know, and what action is the government taking today to secure the assets owned by the people of Canada and in a warehouse in Florida?