House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 47% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, perhaps the minister did not understand or hear what I said, so I will repeat it again.
I have a transcript here of what the parliamentary secretary said. He said, “I can't confirm what the cost assumption will be in 2017 or 18 when we're approaching the signing of a purchase agreement”.
Will the minister confirm that there will be no purchase agreements signed before that 2017-18 time frame?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, on April 11, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence told CBC that there would be no contract signed for a replacement until 2017 or 2018, when we are approaching the signing of a purchase agreement. The minister confirmed there will be no contracts signed until 2017 or 2018 for the purchase of replacement aircraft for the CF-18s.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, the minister clearly referred to fitting into a production schedule. The only production schedule that we know about is the F-35. Will he say that he was talking about the F-35 here?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, clearly the minister is talking about the F-35.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, has the Department of National Defence let any contracts or engaged any contractors to continue the operation of the F-18s until 2025?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, I can see what kind of night this is going to be.
Could the Minister of National Defence confirm the information that we have received, that the CF-18s have now been programmed to operate until 2025, that the department is actually engaging contracts to ensure that the CF-18s can continue to fly until 2025, and that this is part of the plan of the government?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, could the minister tell us whether any documentation was provided to the Minister of Defence, who was minister at the time, supporting the conclusions made by the Department of National Defence that the F-35 provided the lowest cost and unparalleled benefits for the Canadian aerospace industry?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, I would like to ask the minister, who was minister at the time in 2008, if could he confirm that the Eurofighter and the Boeing Super Hornet were the other two aircraft, as has been reported in the press.
Perhaps the minister who was minister at the time in 2008 could answer that question.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2012
Madam Chair, I am happy to begin the evening's activities by using my time to ask questions. We have a lot of questions and I will not be speechifying.
I would like to start by asking the minister if he could deal with the section of the Auditor General's most recent report on the F-35s. In paragraph 2.54 of the report, it states that in 2008 the minister's department took an options analysis of three contending aircraft for the replacement of the F-18, based against high level mandatory capabilities and concluded that all three of the aircraft that were tested met the high level mandatory capabilities.
Could the minister confirm that this was the case and tell us what the other two aircraft were, because I understand the F-35 was one of the three?
National Defence May 8th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, cuts to mental health services in the Canadian Forces are of grave concern to its members, to their families and to all Canadians. Dr. McGregor said the Canadian Psychiatric Association and its members are keen to collaborate. Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan deserve support. This will not happen if the Conservative government continues its plan to cut services.
Military families are waiting for a commitment, Canadian health care professionals are waiting to collaborate and the Canadian public is ready for the government to treat our forces with the respect they deserve. Will the minister reverse his plan to cut these critical mental health services?