Mr. Speaker, before starting my remarks on the adjournment proceedings, I want to say it is quite shameful that the government would defer the vote without the approval and without negotiating with this party when it was we who put forward the opposition motion today. It just shows that the Liberals want to avoid the vote until after the break week.
When I asked the Minister of National Defence during question period on October 22 about the tragedy on board the HMCS Chicoutimi , he replied that we owe it to each other in the House to be forthright. Well the official opposition has been very forthright about our belief that the men and women of our armed forces deserve the support and the respect of their government. The government however has been far from forthright when it comes to its intentions for the Canadian Forces. It is gutting the morale and capability of our army, navy and air force by stealth.
The Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defence, and his parliamentary secretary are well versed at offering up platitudes to Canadians about how they want to provide the best equipment necessary to our troops. Yet not only have they denied the resources necessary to replace old, broken down equipment and supplies, they will not even give our soldiers, airmen and sailors the money they need to keep their present equipment running.
Officials from the Department of National Defence reported earlier this year that the government had left the forces so short of cash in the coming fiscal year that they would not be able to afford the fuel required to sail ships and fly aircraft. How can the minister claim to be forthright when he says his government supports the Canadian Forces but then he forces our military men and women to make do with questionable second-hand equipment like the Chicoutimi ?
I want to point out that as the time spent overseas away from their families is increasing for many of our troops, some of these same families are still living in on-base housing that is sadly substandard, and the Canadian Forces Housing Agency continues to increase their rents; all this while a private in the Canadian military is still only being paid about $26,000 a year. We just learned recently--and thank goodness we do have caring citizens out there--that charities are raising money for Christmas hampers for needy military families.
The Conservative Party has been very honest with Canadians about our steadfast desire to restore resources and morale in the Canadian Forces. If the government were as forthright, it would admit that it does not have the political will to do the same.