Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from a military fact finding mission in Australia.
I first want to thank those private donors and the Reform Party which financially supported this endeavour to make it possible.
For 10 days I visited with Australian defence leaders and met with men and women of the Canadian forces in Darwin. Unlike Canada's military, which has suffered from political neglect for decades, the Australians have a replacement or upgrade program in place for all their major equipment.
Here in Canada air crews continue to struggle to keep the 36 year old Sea King helicopters in the air, while our government dithers.
If there is one overriding lesson that I would like to pass on to my colleagues on both sides of the House it is this: In Australia national defence is truly a national and non-partisan issue.
The tragic cancellation of the EH-101, where this Prime Minister made a cynical promise that continues to jeopardize the safety of military personnel, could not happen there—