Stephen Harper

[Afghanistan, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have been told that we have not had that specific request from the United States. Whether it comes or not, I will be very clear: Canada will make its own determination in this regard. We have our forces there now to help train the Afghan security forces because it is in the interests of our country that Afghanistan does not become once again a safe haven for terrorism and also in our interest that, in order to prevent that, the Afghans themselves assume greater responsibility for their own security.

Our government will make any decisions it makes with the best interests of our own country and the world community in mind.

[Afghanistan, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this House will make its own determination about the presence of our troops in Afghanistan. Our troops are there to train the Afghan forces to assume greater responsibility for their own security. Afghanistan's security is in our national interest and in the interest of the international community.

[Foreign Affairs, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the issue is that the Summit of the Americas, by agreement in the Declaration of Quebec City some years ago under the preceding government, agreed that the Summit of the Americas was open to democratically elected leaders from the hemisphere. Cuba does not qualify because the leader is not democratically elected, and China does not qualify because it is not in the Americas.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as the Auditor General said, the Auditor General questioned the reliability and the completeness of information that the department had provided on these costs.

That is why the government has committed explicitly to re-examining those numbers, as suggested by the Auditor General, before we move forward. That was the Auditor General's suggestion. The government, of course, is acting on that and doing much more, putting in a process of increased supervision before we in fact spend any money to acquire new aircraft.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General asked the government to re-examine the numbers concerning the F-35 and the government is committed to doing just that. We will go through all the necessary steps before we acquire this aircraft. Our commitment in that regard is very clear.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, of course, the minister has done no such thing. I think we have been very clear on this. We said specifically that the minister was referring, of course, and the record is very clear on this, to acquisition costs. There are other costs obviously involved in our budgets that are also accounted for. The government has been expending money on development costs with the strong support not only of the Royal Canadian Air Force but also of the aviation industry based in this country.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that the Minister of National Defence was referring to acquisition costs for the airplane. The government, in fact, has not bought any aircraft. It has not yet signed a contract. It has not yet acquired any aircraft.

The government has spent money as part of an international consortium on the development of the aircraft, and there are more than 60 Canadian companies with contracts developing the F-35, as I have said repeatedly in the House.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what this question is about but, obviously, I expect the ministers to always tell the truth.

[National Defence, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government has not spent any money on these aircraft because it has not yet signed a contract.

The Auditor General questioned the figures provided by the Department of National Defence. That is why the government is responding to his recommendations and is in the process of ensuring that those figures are verified through a more independent process. The government intends to give all this information to parliamentarians as soon as it is available.

[National Defence, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the hon. member's need for attention these days. The fact is that there are no consequences to this point because the government has not spent any money on the acquisition of aircraft. It is has not purchased any aircraft and has not signed a contract.

As we have said, the government is responding to the Auditor General's recommendations to reassess the costs and to provide a better process in the future to ensure those cost estimates are more accurate. That is what the government is doing and the Auditor General says that those are steps in the right direction.