Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister, departmental officials, and members of the Canadian Armed Forces for joining us today.
This being Veterans' Week, and Remembrance Day fast approaching, for those of you who have served and those of you who are currently serving, I want to say thank you so much for your service. On behalf of the official opposition, I hope you pass on to all the members of the Canadian Armed Forces our sincerest appreciation for what they do in standing on guard for all of us.
I was a little disappointed when I was looking through the supplementary estimates, Minister. Under vote 5a, the allocation is $4.1 billion in total now; however, in your “Strong, Secure, Engaged” defence policy, you pledge $6.6 billion for the same year. You're $2.5 billion short. Last year, you were short and missed the mark on your defence policy.
Also, the amount for pensions in the public accounts for 2017-18 was supposed to be $3.4 billion, but in supplementary estimates (A), it's $1.2 billion, so it's $2.2 billion short on pensions for our military members.
We've said all along that we had concerns that “Strong, Secure, Engaged” was a book of empty promises. You're underfunding it. I don't know how you plan on catching up.
Now, you did talk about Latvia and the important role we're playing with NATO in dealing with Russian aggression in the region. You talked about Operation Honour, respecting female members, and all members of the Canadian Armed Forces who deal with sexual misconduct and sexual assault.
However, last week we saw a disturbing report in the media related to the Team Canada flight that went over to Latvia to build morale with our troops in Latvia and Greece. There's been a misinformation campaign coming from the department, from your office. So I ask you this, Minister. Did you or your press secretary Byrne Furlong approve statements suggesting that the VIP party flight would cost only $15,000, which was reported earlier this year?