Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question from the hon. member.
I want to inform the hon. member and members of the House that I met with the chief of the defence staff and the chief of maritime command just before question period. The chief of maritime command reminded me that the purchase of these submarines was at the navy's request. These were submarines that the navy requested to deal with security issues off Canada's coast. They are the right submarines to do that. Of course we are going to work with our navy to make sure that these submarines are operational and are providing the strategic defence of our coast which is absolutely essential for this country.