Mr. Speaker, during the debate, I shared some good news with my colleague. I told him that our government is determined to provide our men and women in uniform with the equipment they need, the equipment they did not have access to for the nine years of the previous government's reign. These aircraft are needed to satisfy an interim operational requirement until the fleet is permanently replaced through a competitive procurement process.
In a letter of request to the U.S. government, Canada listed its capability, scheduling, and economic spinoff requirements pertaining to the procurement of the 18 Super Hornets.