House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 44% of the vote.
National Defence March 26th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, if I may say once again, we respect the important work of the Auditor General. Of course, we will deal with that in due course when the report is finally tabled. Until then, it would be inappropriate for me, as I believe it is for the member opposite, to comment further on these issues that he does not know anything about.
National Defence March 26th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I will not comment or speculate on the report.
Canada has been a partner in the F-35 program for the past 15 years. Our plan is to continue in the program. We have not signed a contract for purchase. We retain flexibility and we remain within our budget.
Ultimately we will ensure that the air force has the aircraft needed to do the job we ask of it.
National Defence March 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the best way I can answer whatever that question was is to say that the public and our Canadian Forces can trust our government to do the right thing for them. The no defence party over there would have no appreciation for that whatsoever.
National Defence March 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, this purchase was made by the previous Liberal government.
In any event, the Royal Canadian Navy has advised that in 2013 it expects to have three of the four submarines continuously available for operations. This will include a high readiness submarine on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.
National Defence March 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, we respect the work of the Auditor General of Canada. Parliament will receive the final report in the next little while. Until then, it would be totally inappropriate for me to comment on rumours of what may or may not be in the Auditor General's report. It would be inappropriate for me to speculate and I will not do that.
National Defence March 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, it is very sad to hear that kind of commentary, in all honesty.
The Prime Minister has already addressed this question himself in the House. We have been very clear. We have not signed any contract for a purchase. We, like the previous Liberal government, have signed a memorandum of understanding related to the program. It is unfortunate that the member opposite would not respect the explanation on the part of the Prime Minister.
National Defence March 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, we respect the important work of the Auditor General. Parliament will receive the final report in the near future. Until then, it would be totally inappropriate for me to comment on rumours of what may or may not be included in that report.
National Defence March 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I will not comment on speculation. Canada has been a partner in the joint strike fighter program for 15 years. Our plan is to continue in the program. We have not signed a contract for purchase, as we have said.
Ultimately, we will ensure that we address the forthcoming report. As of now, we are not going to speculate.
National Defence March 15th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, that is pretty rich talk from the party that sent our men and women to Afghanistan in green uniforms and wearing black boots and that cut the military budget over the length of its tenure. It became the era of darkness in the military. The Liberals are not the ones to criticize this government.
National Defence March 15th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, Canada is one of nine countries involved in the joint strike fighter program. We have been engaged with our partners in the development of an aircraft not yet purchased. No contract has yet been signed.