Mr. Speaker, I rise in response to comments made in question period by the Minister of National Defence on February 21.
I believe that his response failed to encompass the full scope of the situation of Canada's military preparedness and readiness. The comments I made were based on the fact that since the Liberal government took over in 1993, the Aurora and Arcturus patrol aircraft patrol time has been cut from 19,200 hours to just 11,500 hours, and the minister wishes to cut that further, to an unacceptable 8,000 hours a year. This is in spite of a written recommendation by the chief of the air force who states emphatically that less than 11,500 hours would result in an “unacceptable impact”.
I believe that the response did not encompass the real problem and one of the main purposes for the patrols, arctic sovereignty. I believe that with the Northwest Passage being used more and more and polar overflights increasing in number on a day to day basis, one might argue for more patrolling hours, not less, in order to assert our presence and our sovereignty in the far north. We must remember the Manhattan and how it challenged our Arctic presence not too many years ago.
However, the Liberal cuts have also decimated our military readiness in many other areas. Our trucks cannot tow the howitzers or cannon because they do not have serviceable wheels. We cannot always have the local motor league towing company that we have available in Ottawa. What do we do overseas in Bosnia? Does the Canadian Automobile Association maybe have a European chapter?
That is one additional problem. As well, our CF-18s have been shown to have moisture problems. They have water embedded in the honeycombing in the wings, so there is a definite problem with the wing flaps. They are without real spare parts, so they are scavenging other units for the spare parts that they do need.
There is also the report of the Leopard tanks whose hulls have worn so thin on the bottom that they can put screwdrivers through them. They have overplated and welded up that condition, but that too is a 1970s vehicle with some serious concerns.
It was recently reported that barracks in Alberta were being abandoned after only four years because of hundreds of dangerous cracks appearing in the foundations. PMQs in Edmonton are in need of major repairs.
Then there is the government's less than stellar treatment of our soldiers, who are told that their illnesses are their own fault, apparently because they are stressed with worrying about their illnesses.
For these and other reasons, the minister must respond to these concerns, the concerns of northern sovereignty patrols being cut, army truck wheels, moisture in our CF-18 wings, wear on Leopard tanks, new barracks crumbling, PMQs in need of repair, soldiers' health concerns, lack of heavy lift capability and, of course, our ongoing helicopter issue.
The public needs answers to these questions about our military readiness and our Canadian armed forces.