Mr. Chair, there is no commitment there and there is no investment. Our troops need the equipment and they need the investment in training. They need the investment to make sure that we continue to increase the number of men and women who are serving our nation, and it does not sound as though there is a plan there.
I am going to switch gears a bit and go over to the Super Hornets. We know that the minister has this imaginary capability gap. We heard testimony at committee and we have heard from other sources, including General Hood, commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who said at committee that there was no capability gap. We know that a Defence Research and Development Canada study showed that going to an interim measure would be more costly and more expensive and would reduce our capabilities. We have had 13 former commanders of the Royal Canadian Air Force who have said that buying the Super Hornet on a sole-source deal as an interim measure would be detrimental to the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The minister has claimed that there is this capability gap, yet his colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, through the trade fight that we have with the United States now, said in her statement of May 18 that “Canada is reviewing current military procurement that relates to Boeing.”
If there is a capability gap, why is the government prepared to walk away from the Super Hornet buy, and what other options has the minister looked at, other than just buying the Super Hornet?