Thank you very much, Chair.
Ministers, thank you very much for being here, and also those who are in attendance with you.
It's always important, whenever we're doing this, given that we have personnel overseas putting their lives at risk, to acknowledge the debt we all have and the respect that every one of us has for all our fellow citizens who don those uniforms, those in this room and those who are in theatre.
Our job, of course, as elected representatives of the people is to have the kind of debate and discussion that those who are putting their lives on the line would expect. But I think we all accept that none of the division that might exist between us in any way waters down the great respect and support that every member of Parliament has for all our armed forces personnel and their families and the civilians who support them. So I begin my remarks with that point of respect and acknowledgement.
Having said that, Minister, I can't help but begin the remarks today, given that the main estimates show that there are some cutbacks projected.... We know there are more coming, yet on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen we see a prime example of what looks like defence spending out of control.
Let me underscore, from the email of the department, my endorsement of this statement: The recognition ceremony held on Parliament Hill, on November 24, was a valuable opportunity to showcase nationally the Canadian Forces and their equipment....
No one denies or wants to deny our armed forces their victory lap, and their acknowledgement and their respect. This isn't about that. That was originally budgeted to be under $400,000. That price then jumped to $474,000, and now we're at $812,000, with an $850,000 potential cost.
The question has to be asked, Minister: at a time when it looks as though our armed forces are going to have to be dealing with cutbacks that may hurt the benefits of those who are in uniform, what possible justification can there be for such runaway spending?
The question needs to be put to you, Minister. Is this your responsibility? Is it your office that didn't keep tabs? Was it higher-ups who didn't keep tabs? Was it your bureaucracy? Obviously, somebody was not on top of this file and should have been. There needs to be some accountability, and that begins right now, Minister.