Mr. Speaker, the decision to use a civilian helicopter not intended for search and rescue missions led to the deaths of Captain Colin Sonoski and Captain Juli-Ann Mackenzie on July 18 of this year.
Under this minister's watch, rescue efforts were further hampered by the fact that the C-146 is painted camouflage green. Since 1996 there has been a request to paint the Griffon helicopters yellow so that they are easier to find when they crash.
Is not the reason the Griffon helicopters were never repainted that the military was waiting for the Sea King replacements to use as search and rescue helicopters?