National Defence committee  We don't do these checks systematically. We have done so for major programs, combat ships for example, but not for the entire procurement process or other specific processes, apart from the reports we've published. It's probably something that relates more closely to the Auditor

National Defence committee  What we have seen so far does not lead to concerns of that nature—or what we've seen several years ago. We have received very good collaboration from the Department of National Defence. There have been some hiccups: information that we had asked for earlier this year that did not

National Defence committee  We didn't look at that. You may be referring to a report by the Auditor General. We did not make recommendations—

National Defence committee  Maybe it's something that I completely forgot, but I don't think so. We didn't look at the intricacies of the process and the privatization of some processes at National Defence.

National Defence committee  That's fine. Maybe Madam Hogan will be a bit insulted that you confused her with me.

National Defence committee  That's fine.

National Defence committee  We have not looked at specifically the lack of procurement personnel at DND, but in the course of our multiple reports—and we've released a lot over the years—it's something that has come up regularly, that there is a lack of procurement personnel at DND. In order to improve th

National Defence committee  That's a contributing factor.

National Defence committee  That's a question that is very.... It's something that comes up every now and then. We're a budget office, so we tend to go with dollars and cents, with numbers and the cost of specific proposals. Even though there are social impacts and environmental impacts to many of the gove

National Defence committee  That's an interesting question, because I myself looked at that when the issue resurfaced several months ago. I was a bit surprised to hear that. I should not have been surprised, but there are elements other than pure DND spending. For example, there are veterans pensions and b

National Defence committee  No, they have not always been there. They were made in 2014-15.

National Defence committee  Yes. As a result of including these additional expenditures, which is consistent across NATO countries—it's not unique to Canada, so it's a NATO definition—the proportion of GDP going to defence expenditures has gone up, and is expected to go up, but mostly as a result of increas

National Defence committee  It's a target also under NATO, but it's difficult to reach that level with the current constraints, especially when it comes to delivering on military projects. Over time, with the expected increase in capital spending, that goal could be attained over the next couple of years, a

National Defence committee  I'm a budget guy, so I've done reports on Canada's military, and I've looked at numbers for other countries, but I am not a military procurement specialist per se, especially not on the international scene. Maybe the eminent Chris has more knowledge and information than I do.

National Defence committee  I'm not sure that the budget process or the funding process is itself at fault, because there's already a predictable budget track for capital expenditures under “Strong, Secure, Engaged”. Even before that, there was a capital spending envelope at the Department of National Defen