Afghanistan committee  We started transforming how we looked after those casualties, both the bodies of those who had been killed and the wounded, transforming how we looked after their families and transforming how we looked after their battle buddies. We also realized, after a decade of darkness that was the culmination of many, many years of lower funding and lack of support that we perceived, that some of our own kit was completely unsuitable for that environment. For example, we were much involved with getting rid of the oldest jeep at that point in time because it simply was no longer acceptable.

Afghanistan  It was General Rick Hillier who called the Liberals' time in power, with respect to the service of men and women in uniform, a “decade of darkness”. We have done a lot to turn that around. It is important to be very clear that no one, not even Mr. Colvin, has made any suggestion, presented one shred of evidence or made any insinuation that Canadian soldiers mistreated Taliban prisoners.

Committees of the House  Quite frankly, he did not answer the question. People talk about the military going through a decade of darkness under the former Liberal government. Agriculture went through a decade of darkness with the Liberal government as well. Tobacco growers went through a decade of darkness. I want to ask the member directly, once and for all, what did the member's government do for 13 years while tobacco farmers were in terrible trouble?

National Defence  Speaker, 13 years of neglect of the Canadian Forces by the former Liberal government, often referred to as the decade of darkness, left our military service men and women with rusting equipment and crumbling infrastructure on our national defence bases. Under our government's first defence strategy, we are replacing and refurbishing 25% of our existing military infrastructure over 10 years.

National Defence  Speaker, that is pretty rich. If he wants to talk about the dead of night, let us talk about the decades of darkness under the Liberal government. The Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defence announced the Canada first defence strategy about a month ago. People wanted more details on it.

National Defence committee  I'll be sharing my time with Mr. Hawn, if there's any left over. My goodness, what a change from the decade of darkness when DND didn't have enough money to spend. Now it has more than it can possibly spend. Ms. Fraser, you mentioned that even if DND had known in March, they may still not have been able to spend the total amount without going over.

National Defence  Speaker, I will tell the House who endangered the lives of Canadians for 13 long, horrible years and over a decade of darkness. It was that party across the way. If we want to talk about programs that have been delayed, let us talk about the Sea King replacement program. In 1993 former Prime Minister Chrétien tore that up.

National Defence  We need to look after them. We are not like the group across the way that plunged the Canadian Forces into a decade of darkness and sucked the lifeblood out of them for 10 years.

National Defence  However, I will tell the House what is a nice problem to have in the Department of National Defence these days, something that never happened during that member's time in government: We have enough money now, with the Canada first defence strategy, to purchase the necessary equipment, to support the men and women in uniform who are doing important work. That never happened during a decade of darkness when he was in government.

Afghanistan  You would have thought you were on the Canadian Prairies, with the lights of several villages twinkling on the horizon. After decades of darkness the lights are back on, because after decades of darkness the Canadian forces are equipped to do the job and because Canada is there. There are many measures of the success we are achieving.

Economic and Fiscal Statement  Mr. Speaker, after over a decade of darkness under the Liberal government, the military was rusted out and hollowed out. Upon winning government, the Conservatives set immediately to work getting our soldiers the proper equipment to carry out the missions they are tasked with.

National Defence  That money, over 20 years, will allow the Canadian Forces to do the jobs that we have given them to do, the jobs the previous government gave them and never funded them to do. The Liberals should be ashamed of themselves. We finally shone a light after a decade of darkness. We are getting the job done.

Natural Resources committee  Despite the election promise by the Ontario premier to close coal-fired plants for electricity, their lives have actually been extended as a consequence of more than a decade of darkness in the previous Liberal government, whereby they starved the nuclear industry. Consequently, the electrical--

National Defence  For the forces, it includes ensuring the continuity of defence infrastructure and ensuring that the Canadian Forces are ready to deploy where and when they are needed. The time for the decade of darkness is over. We ordered that, and that is in the plan.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, let me tell the member quite clearly that despite the decade of darkness, this government has acted. I want to say this. We kept all our contractual obligations alive. In fact, we spent $18 million to ensure the safety of our Sea King helicopters and pilots.