Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign the Prime Minister ridiculed the Conservative plan for greater airlift and sealift capacity. In fact the Liberals even ran television ads attacking the Conservatives for advocating the purchase of hybrid carriers.
The Prime Minister said, “We are not interested in getting aircraft carriers”. General Hillier, Canada's new chief of the defence staff, stated that he needs a large ship to enable Canada to meet the challenges from humanitarian aid to armed conflict.
Will the government now follow the advice of its top soldier and that of the Conservative Party and proceed with the purchase or procurement of large troop transport vessels?