Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I just need clarification on the helicopter that the member is referencing.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I am going to have to get back to the member with respect to that specific question. What DND asks for us to procure, we procure.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, again, we are procurement, so we ask DND. As the client, DND provides us with the information and the details and the specs it needs, and we follow what it has asked.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, again, the Department of Defence asks us to procure, and we procure. The Department of Defence is the client. What it asks us to procure, we get the best possible value for Canadians in our—

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, we are in the negotiation phase. We are very pleased that the process was competitive, and we know that we are going to get the best price based on a competitive process.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I am absolutely delighted to hear of that announcement. That important investment is absolutely going to be a game-changer, in terms of the production of electric vehicles. Of course we want to increase that and make it easy and convenient for people to purchase and drive electric vehicles.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I am happy to say that in this strong procurement process, which was rigorous and competitive, we gave the highest weighting to economic benefits, and we are very pleased that we were able to do that, because we want to ensure that Canadians, of course, are benefiting from this.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I am very pleased to say that we are in the finalization stage, and we expect the contract to be signed before the end of this year.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, what I agree with is the heavy weighting that was given to economic benefits. I think that this was very important, and there are procedures in the process that are set up in order to ensure that those economic benefits are honoured.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, what is being worked out right now are the details of that process so that, in this finalization stage, those intricate details are being written to sign a contract so that we know exactly what we are receiving.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, one of the advantages with this process is that we are getting the latest and greatest plane. We are delighted that, in this procurement and in this investment that we are making, we will be getting the latest and greatest F-35.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, to begin, I would like to confirm that we are committed to real action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings, as is outlined in my mandate letter. We have opportunities here, and we want to seize these opportunities and demonstrate leadership. This past year alone, we reported a 57.6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings, as compared to the baseline laid out in 2005 and 2006.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the interpretation bureau employed 65 staff interpreters and 56 freelance interpreters in 2019 to 2020.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I would like to point out and thank the interpreters for the amazing work they are doing. There has been a huge workload increase, and COVID has descended upon us. They have been absolutely fantastic. We have implemented measures like the headsets with sound limiters, reducing the length of their assignments and implementing rigorous COVID-19 safety measures.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, we want to continuously work with the translation bureau to ensure it can provide the services that are needed. We know there is a stress on the system, and it is actually about hiring interpreters to commit to this. There is a limited pool of expertise in this regard, and we continue to work on it.