National Defence committee  It is all important. But the question is very important. Let me answer as best I can. It is very important, in my estimation, for the public to understand why the requirements we select are necessary. To continue--and here I'm going to give you the credit--if I went to a car dealership again and wanted to buy a mode of transportation, I would first have to decide if this mode of transportation was for myself; my wife; myself, my wife, and my ten kids; or whether I need to transport furniture and equipment.

National Defence committee  That's correct.

National Defence committee  No. Our interest was in doing our best for our industry. This could turn out to be the perfect aircraft for us. That wasn't our focus at the time.

National Defence committee  No, neither the 2002 one, which I signed, nor the 2006 one, which the deputy minister signed on December 11, 2006, binds Canada to acquire the aircraft.

National Defence committee  Absolutely not; in fact, the contrary appears, as people know, in clause 3.2.1.1.1. The 2006 MOU basically suggests that every country should be able to abide by the laws that govern procurement in that country.

National Defence committee  I never got that impression throughout my retirement period. I know that when the 2006 MOU was signed, if you read the reports and statements at that time, neither did the Canadian government at the time, because they acknowledged in the release of December 11 that they were still looking at competition.

National Defence committee  I'm saying there's an absolute certainty that they would get more than $12 billion. Even the $12 billion is up to competition, you know. When I was there, I think we won 38-point-something percent of those that we.... Even if you say it's $12 billion, and maybe we'll win a third, maybe we'll win 40%, you're talking about $4 billion to $6 billion typically for contracts—we're not going to win it all—whereas, even if you talked about a $16 billion program, that amount has to be guaranteed.

National Defence committee  Very, very minimally, and that's probably exaggerating it. You have to understand that in this program your degree of influence is predicated on your degree of money. We were a level-three player in this. The only level-one player in this was the United Kingdom. They joined for $200 million in this first phase, when we paid $10 million.

National Defence committee  Thank you Mr. Chairman for inviting me to speak to you today about the Joint Strike Fighter. Throughout my 33-year career in the federal public service I have had many opportunities to appear before you on a range of subjects. I always found it to be an honour and privilege to do so and I always enjoyed our exchange of views.