It will be interesting to see how that shakes out, Mr. Minister.
The Conference of Defence Associations has done an analysis on the defence budget increases. It said there was an allocation of just $300 million for new capital equipment. I would like to read what it said. It said:
--the operational readiness of the Canadian forces would continue to decline mainly as a result of underfunding.
That is a very clear statement.
We also asked General Jeffery, the commander of the army, whether the 2001 defence budget provided sufficient funding for the armed forces and he said “The short answer is no”.
We are at war, Mr. Minister. Why is national defence not a priority of the government? The head of the army said that the increases were not enough.