Mr. Speaker, the decision to ground the CH-149 Cormorant search and rescue helicopter fleet in Trenton due to a lack of spare parts and replace it with the CH-146 Griffon helicopter comes as a shock to the families of Captain Colin Sonoski and Captain Juli-Ann Mackenzie.
These brave soldiers died when their Griffon helicopter crashed during a search and rescue mission. It has been over three years since that helicopter crash. The families are still waiting for the final report on rescue 420 to find out what caused the tail rotor blade to fall off the Griffon helicopter in mid-flight, plunging the two pilots to their deaths.
Before any more Canadian Forces pilots are killed because of faulty equipment, this Prime Minister, who is responsible for the budget cuts to our military, owes it to the widow and the families and all the members of the armed forces to immediately release the final report on that crash before using the CH-146 as a search and rescue replacement for a helicopter which is earning a reputation as unsafe to fly.