Mr. Chairman, I must say that families in my riding are painfully aware of the lack of resources and the fact that soldiers are constantly redeployed almost as soon as they get off the ships. It is painful to watch at the family resources centre as families deal with yet another deployment.
I will talk about the government's failure to safely equip our forces. In the conclusion of the national defence 2002-03 estimates the government states:
Over the past few years, Defence has pursued a deliberate strategy to position Canada’sdefence and security establishment for the future, focussing on ways to reinvest in itspeople, and to modernize, revitalize, and enhance the operational effectiveness of theCanadian Forces.
I guess this refers to upgrading the CF18s, the Aurora and the Coyote. However the replacement of the Sea King continues to be delayed. Other members here are passionate about the issue as well. How can the government claim to be working to enhance and modernize the armed forces when for close to 10 years the Maritime Helicopter Project has been stalled? The service personnel of 12 Wing Shearwater continue to operate and maintain the Sea Kings which are flying accidents waiting to happen.
When will the government replace the Sea King? How many more soldiers do we need to lose in these helicopters before the government gets the message that they are death traps?