Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable to send our troops into combat situations without adequate equipment. A case in point is the helicopter fiasco.
Talk of replacing the Sea Kings began in 1975. Now, in 2001, our dedicated members of the armed forces are still using these increasingly unreliable 40 year old machines. At best we can expect the new ones only four years from now.
It cost about $500 million to cancel the contracts when the Liberals were elected in 1993. It took $50 million to upgrade them at that time. The Sea King maintenance for the last 10 years is at least $750 million. In other words, the total cost is greater than it would have been to just take the EH-101s in 1993.
As a member of parliament representing a large contingent of our armed forces, I am outraged that our faithful and dedicated armed forces personnel have been so let down. Shame on the Liberals for this total mismanagement.