Mr. Chair, our government is committed to ensuring that the Canadian Armed Forces have the right tools to defend Canada and North America and to contribute to global peace and security with our partners around the world.
We are taking action to make improvements on defence procurement, notably by increasing defence authorities to contract up to $5 million to allow Public Services and Procurement Canada to focus on higher value, complex procurements.
We are also making significant capital investments in our military, including an open and transparent competition to replace our CF-18s; acquisition of the interim aircraft to supplement our current aging fighter fleet; the acquisition of the new fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, the first airplane expected in 2019; and recapitalization of the naval fleet through the national shipbuilding strategies.
All of these investments in equipment and infrastructure represent an important contribution toward the government's goal in delivering a more integrated, agile, and better equipped military.