Mr. Speaker, with respect to new airlift capacity for the Canadian armed forces, the defence minister says that no deals have yet been made but the industry minister was out shopping yesterday in Washington.
Let me ask the defence minister about the principles that he will follow in pursuing this proposed purchase of airlift capacity.
Would the minister guarantee that any new airplanes will, first and foremost, meet the requirements of the Canadian military, in the order of priority as recommended by the military and undistorted by the political preferences of the minister?