“I oppose this bill. The government wants to create a new agency to buy military equipment, but it has not delivered anything yet. Our military needs equipment, not more bureaucracy.”

“Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of failures in military procurement, the Liberals found a solution: create even more bureaucracy. The Defence Investment Agency has yet to deliver any new equipment to our military members, and its chief executive officer reportedly wanted to leave because he was frustrated with the slow pace of the system. However, with Bill C‑40, the Liberals want to turn this agency into a Crown corporation. Our military does not need a new agency. It needs equipment. Why is the Liberals’ answer to failure even more bureaucracy?”

“The defence agency is picking winners without real competition or talks with the air force. This bill will reduce oversight even more. I want the minister to promise that no deals will be made under the table.”

“Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing with the Defence Investment Agency is that they are already picking winners. We know that Saab’s GlobalEye aircraft was selected as the preferred option, without any real competition and without proper consultation with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Now, with Bill C‑40, we run the risk of further reducing parliamentary oversight. Will the minister guarantee that no contract will be awarded under the table?”

“The government picked new military planes without a fair competition, even though the air force did not want them. Now, this bill gives a new government agency more power to hand out military contracts without competition or written reasons. I want the government to explain how this bill improves fairness and accountability.”

“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister announced a global aircraft project that does not meet operational requirements, to the surprise of the air force. L3Harris Canada and other contenders were not consulted. With no open competition, clearly politics was put ahead of defence. This is not the type of procurement Canada needs. Bill C-40 would bring an updated DIA Crown corporation with no defined procedures. However, there would be 13 exceptions for sole-source contracting, with no written reasons required. How would the government bring open competition and enhanced accountability, when Bill C-40’s focus is on giving the DIA more power and the government less accountability?”

“The government has failed to meet the target to spend 2% on defence. The Prime Minister makes announcements, but does not follow through.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for mansplaining the past. The government has failed to meet even the 2%. The Prime Minister has made numerous defence announcements that have— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!”

“This bill lets the government skip fair competition and buy military gear without oversight from Parliament. Will the government make its buying rules public and explain all these single-source military contracts to Parliament?”

“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has made numerous defence announcements that have no signed contracts, including the GlobalEye project, which bypassed open competition. Now, Bill C-40 would turn the Defence Investment Agency into a Crown corporation that would give the Liberals unprecedented powers to bypass parliamentary oversight and easily approve sole-source contracting without fair competition. Will the Liberals commit to releasing the DIA’s full procurement procedures and provide written justification to Parliament for all major sole-source military procurement contracts?”

“I oppose this defence bill. The government is just reorganizing things again without fixing anything. I think this bill only exists to protect the Prime Minister's friend from having to answer to taxpayers.”

“Mr. Speaker, nobody trusts the Liberals or the secretary of state. After a decade, the Liberals always play political games. We are now on the third iteration of the Prime Minister’s attempt to reinvent the wheel. Nothing changed in the last six months, except that media reported that Doug Guzman wanted to resign after less than a year as CEO of the Defence Investment Agency. Is Bill C-40 nothing more than an attempt to keep the Prime Minister’s BFF from rage quitting because he had to be accountable to taxpayers?”

“The government keeps changing how it buys military equipment. It wants to create a new corporation to get around spending rules and give a minister too much control. I want the government to admit this will lower accountability and increase political meddling.”

“Mr. Speaker, let us talk about reality. In May, the Liberal solution was turning the brand new DIA into a stand-alone agency. Six months later, the Liberals changed their minds again and are trying to turn the agency into a Crown corporation. In reality, the Liberals are attempting to circumvent Treasury Board rules and give a new associate minister unprecedented power over a Crown corporation that would have to do everything the associate minister would say, do and spend. Is this a new attempt by the Prime Minister to decrease accountability and increase political interference in defence procurement?”