Mr. Chair, in my maiden speech in December, I shared how proud I was to have met so many veterans while I was on the campaign trail and how proud I was to be serving at the deputy critic for Veterans Affairs and working on the committee where all of us really do want to make a difference for our armed forces and our veterans.
The comments I heard in coffee shops, at the doors from service groups and legions all reflected the same values and the same concerns for people who cared more than any others about our Canadian Armed Forces, and that is our veterans.
What did they say to me? They said that over the last while the issues of the new veterans charter had been improving, but still a great deal more needed to be done to improve the care for our seriously injured soldiers, veterans, and their families.
Second, with their confidence in seeing our previous Conservative government spend 10 years repairing the damage, increasing the budget for National Defence from $14.5 billion in 2005-06 to over $20 billion in 2014-15, investing in tanks, helicopters, planes, extending the life of CF-18s, modernizing, refurbishing and upgrading, starting the national shipbuilding program, and allocating over $1 billion in infrastructure investment in bases and stations. I am pleased to see that we are continuing these procurement programs, although I am hearing $3.7 billion will be there if needed,
Over and over again, I heard those same veterans saying that we must never go back to the disrespect and lack of support and appreciation for our Canadian Armed Forces that was the decade of darkness under the previous Liberal government.
Could the Minister of National Defence please explain why the previous Conservative government was able to accomplish so much to restore the confidence of the veterans in my riding, while navigating our country through the worst global recession since the Great Depression and bringing taxes to the lowest level in 50 years, yet the Liberal government, with over a $7 billion surplus, not only could not find any new money for Armed Forces in the Speech from the Throne, but also found it necessary to cut spending for the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces who put their lives at risk to protect our security, our sovereignty, and our freedoms?