Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of November, I questioned the Minister of National Defence about his intentions regarding the major defence procurement project under which new submarines will be bought and the next batch of shipborne anti-submarine warfare helicopters will be equipped.
I was asking him more specifically whether he was prepared to drop once and for all the idea of spending several hundred million dollars on submarines whose usefulness has yet to be proven. Second, I asked if he could soon share with us his plans for defence equipment procurement. My third question was the following: Will the minister commit to having a debate in the House of Commons on his procurement plans so that the urgency and usefulness of such procurement can be publicly discussed, according to our priorities and financial capability?
In response to my questions, the Minister of National Defence indicated quite candidly that they were not ruling out anything in terms of defence procurement. I found that this was not a very substantive answer from a minister administering a $10.5 billion budget, especially after his predecessor and General Boyle had resigned, the problems encountered in Somalia and the issue raised about the lack of leadership in DND.
This government should show some good sense and announce that it has given up the idea of buying or leasing submarines, in whatever manner. Such an acquisition is certainly not a priority, given the cuts in social programs. It is even less necessary in the present international context. The same goes for shipborne helicopters. The government should forget about equipping them with anti-submarine and other sophisticated devices for which there is absolutely no need in the present world context.
Why a debate in the House? If we look back at last year, the government, without any justification, went ahead and bought new armoured vehicles by awarding a contract of over $2 billion to GM in London without going to tender. It also announced that it was
going to buy 15 new search and rescue helicopters at a cost of $600 million, without requiring any Canadian content whatsoever of those tendering for the contract.
Another bit of madness by this government was the purchase, for $23.6 million, of 1,600 new anti-tank missiles, which have apparently never been used except for training.
It will be recalled that during the election campaign the Bloc Quebecois suggested cutting the defence department's budget by 25 per cent, which would have represented a $3 billion reduction. At the time, this was considered ridiculous. But thanks to pressure brought to bear by the Bloc Quebecois in the House since 1993-94, when the budget was $12.032 billion, it will be $10.5 billion in 1996-97.
In my view, that was the reason-