Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to do that.
What the hon. member should focus on, and what all Canadians need to know, is how much Canada has been a part of the development of this aircraft. If people get an opportunity, I would recommend that they visit the website for Lockheed Martin and look at the schematics of the F-35. They will see in the shaded component areas that talk about Canadian companies that this aircraft has literally been developed by Canadian companies. These companies are scattered geographically and regionally all over this country.
As I said, to date we have invested only $168 million in the development of this aircraft and it has resulted in $850 million to date in contracts for Canadian companies. That is at minimum, of course. When we look at what industry is predicting with the purchase of only 65 of these planes, we have, at minimum, an opportunity for $12 billion in investments in Canadian companies. This is a huge opportunity.
I would suggest that the hon. member listen to people in the aerospace industry, such as John Saabas, the president of Pratt & Whitney Canada, who have affirmed their strong support for the purchase of these aircraft for Canada's military, and Paul Kalil, the president of Avcorp, which has already received a $500 million U.S. contract to build tailpieces for the U.S. variant for the navy.
This is a great opportunity for what we know to be a very successful aerospace industry here in Canada, and there is only better news to come.