Mr. Speaker, today the official opposition is talking about national defence.
I would like to talk a little about the official opposition and national defence. There are things the Alliance leader will not tell us on his party's position on the Canadian military.
For example, in 1994-95 the reform party was calling for a reduction of $1 billion from the defence budget. Yes, the Alliance leader's 1995 taxpayers' budget called for cuts to defence. In case there is any doubt, I want to quote what the current Leader of the Opposition said at the time: “I do not intend to dispute in any way the need for defence cuts”. So, I am somewhat puzzled today when the Alliance members suddenly pretend to be the champions of the Canadian military.
Canadians know that it is this government that increased defence spending this year by $1 billion and that will increase defence spending by over $5 billion by 2007. That is a real commitment to national defence.