Mr. Speaker, a report today says that one-third of the missions of a Sea King helicopter in the Arabian Sea were cancelled due to mechanical breakdowns.
The defence minister has said “Because of their age, they do need more maintenance than otherwise”. It sounds like he is talking about the Prime Minister, not helicopters.
Why is the government replacing 20 year old low maintenance jets for the high maintenance sultan of Shawinigan and sending 40 year old broken down helicopters into active duty in the war against terrorism?