Mr. Speaker, the F-35 fiasco continues to grow. The choice for this jet was made without competition behind closed doors.
The minister has said that F-35 maintenance over 20 years will cost $5 billion. His parliamentary secretary has said $7 billion. However, in 2009, DND told industry that the cost would be $12 billion. Meanwhile, a competitor, Saab, told the defence committee that its maintenance costs would total $1 billion over 20 years but it did not even get a chance to bid. That is a big difference.
When will the government come clean, show us its math and stop pulling numbers out of thin air?