I will deal with the second question first in regard to delivery on time. Failure to deliver on time means there is no vehicle, there is no equipment and we have nothing. The contract simply has to arrange for delivery on time because it is needed in an appropriate way at an appropriate time, so incentives for delivery in selecting this equipment have to be built into the contract.
The first question had to do with the level of armour. It is a legitimate question, but the hon. member in his question has not addressed the level of risk and what we are protecting from. I suggest to the member that the LAV III, in reasonable numbers, is available and is being used over there with relatively high levels of protection.
We have to keep in mind that our role over there is not simply a military one. We are now part of a provincial reconstruction team, the 3D approach, where we are using diplomacy, development and defence. Those vehicles are going to be used not to transport soldiers into areas of intense military operation but to transport our 3D people, our development people, our CIDA people and our teachers. Many civilians are going to be working there. These vehicles are going to be used to transport those people into more remote areas in the Kandahar sector.
We simply will not be sending our people out where there is recognizable risk, so the risk levels where those vehicles are to be used is a reduced level of risk. That is not to say that something cannot come in unannounced and unreconnoitred, but we need a whole range of vehicles for that kind of provincial reconstruction team. We do not need a Sherman tank for every soldier there. We need many different types of vehicles for different purposes.
I respect the member's objectives in ensuring that all our Canadians are as protected as we can have them, but the vehicles we are selecting also have to be manoeuvrable, although I found the heavily armoured LAV III very manoeuvrable even in intense city traffic in rush hour in Kabul. Perhaps it was just that the people rather politely got out of the way. The LAV IIIs are very manoeuvrable even when heavy. The smaller G wagon, the LUV, the light utility vehicle, would labour with more armour and might not be so manoeuvrable.
That is an attempt to answer some of those questions.