Mr. Speaker, I did not intend to rise and address the budget implementation act this afternoon. However I saw how things unfolded during the day. Since I suspect all MPs will be going back to their ridings for the upcoming break week I felt compelled to get up and add a few words to the issue.
I have been a member of parliament for over eight years. The budget brought down on December 10, almost two months ago today, was the greatest disappointment I have witnessed in my lifetime as an elected member of parliament. I think I speak for the vast majority of Canadians who were led to believe by the Liberal government to expect much more than was delivered in December.
As a number of colleagues have pointed out during the debate, even those from the government benches, there were extenuating circumstances. It has been about five months since the horrible tragedy of September 11. The ripple effects of the dastardly terrorist attacks on the United States of America have been felt not only in the United States but around the world and in Canada in particular. All of us in this place and Canadians from coast to coast recognize that the ripple effects of the attacks are felt in meaningful ways in our everyday society and should have been reflected in the budget the government brought down. I think most Canadians were prepared to be quite understanding about that when looking at the budget.
However what has come to light over the last month or two since we have been actively involved in the war on terrorism, specifically the campaign in Afghanistan, has been how ill prepared the government and our country have been. The once extremely capable Canadian armed forces are but a shadow of what they were in the past. I mean this in terms of equipment and tools to do the job. This is because of nothing more than the Liberal government's misplaced spending priorities. It is that simple.
When the government would rather throw money away on make believe job programs, ill thought through grant programs, and fountains for the Prime Minister's riding rather than the equipment needed by our men and women in the armed forces there is something seriously wrong with our country and our government. That is what has transpired.
Speaking for the constituents of Prince George--Peace River I can tell members that in the real world, outside the Ottawa bubble and the House of Commons, Canadians understand this very clearly. I have heard from a number of my constituents about the issue.
Canadians are reading about our young men and women overseas in Afghanistan having to go cap in hand to the Americans to ask for food rations because they do not have stoves to heat their own food. Our soldiers are dressed in green camouflage uniforms that only allow them to conduct operations safely at night because they are in a desert theatre. They do not have proper equipment. This is because the government has chosen to blow billions of dollars on pet projects over the last eight years instead of properly funding our armed forces.
I believe there is a day of reckoning coming on this. The $1.2 billion that this government committed in the December budget to our military is very clearly an insult. It is not just the opposition parties playing politics with this issue. It is not because the Progressive Conservative/Democratic Representative coalition has pointed this out to the government. This is beyond the issue of politics.
The minister stands up and accuses any of the four opposition parties of fearmongering when we endeavour to raise these very serious issues. I would suggest it is not fearmongering. I would suggest we are not fearmongering when we are talking about the lives of our young men and women who are so proudly serving our country overseas. That is not fearmongering. No one can tell me that Liberal MPs do not hear this from constituents just as much as we do. We have a duty to raise these concerns on the floor of this Chamber with the cabinet, the executive of the government, which has made these poor choices that have put our young men and women at risk.
It is not just the opposition that has said this $1.2 billion is completely and totally inadequate. About $1 billion a year is needed for our armed forces just to catch up to where we should have been before we undertook this latest mission in Afghanistan.
As other colleagues have said, this budget has failed in so many areas that one does not know where to begin. There is nothing for seniors, nothing for youth, nothing for the most vulnerable in our society. Supposedly this is a caring government. The Liberals keep saying they care about the most vulnerable members of society yet the budget does not reflect that, not one bit.