Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Battlefords—Lloydminster for giving me the opportunity to participate in my first adjournment debate as parliamentary secretary.
Canada has long been a country dedicated to peace and security, and an important part of that security obviously are the Canadian armed forces. We have demonstrated this commitment time and again and, in many circumstances, the men and women of the Canadian Forces have been an essential part of preserving the security and peace of Canadians.
The Canadian Forces also have the capability to respond to a wide range of operational requirements with respect to Sea King helicopters. As I said, time and again the Canadian Forces have demonstrated their ability to meet the requirements asked of them by the government, both at home and on missions abroad.
Our shipborne helicopters, currently the Sea Kings, have been an important part of the success of the Canadian Forces. In recent years, the Sea King fleet as a whole has performed very well in peace support, in maritime surveillance and as a secondary requirement in search and rescue operations.
That being said, the government has recognized that there are limitations with respect to the current Sea King fleet and that is why the goal of the government is to upgrade the Sea King fleet and, ultimately, and we hope quickly, replace the Sea Kings.
The hon. member for Battlefords—Lloydminster referred to the single tender approach that the minister announced in December. We believe this single tender approach will accelerate the procurement process, involve less risk and reduce the cost to Canadians.
The minister has stated time and again that his wish is that this procurement proceed quickly and on a priority basis. In fact, last Friday the government received letters of interest from four companies interested in being potential prime contractors for this project.
It is the government's responsibility to carefully manage all major crown procurements and the steps in this process are designed to ensure fairness, openness and, of course, transparency.
Not only is the valuation methodology for the new maritime helicopter consistent with Treasury Board policy, but the office of the Auditor General has stated that “There is more than one way to achieve best value”. She goes on to say “In these circumstances a lowest cost compliant approach to this type of procurement could give rise to best value”.
Our approach allows us to meet the operational needs of our military as specified by the military at the lowest life cycle cost to taxpayers. That is an important statement. The operational requirements for the maritime helicopter project have been determined by the military and at no point have we changed the operational requirements for this procurement.
In closing, I would like to take this opportunity given to me by the hon. member to congratulate and thank the Canadian Forces for their extraordinary work carried out in situations that are often very difficult. These men and women make a daily contribution to our country and our collective security. We are all very proud of them.