Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is reverting back to the time-honoured Liberal tradition of buying used equipment for the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces. Over Thanksgiving the government quietly announced that it has begun negotiations with Australia to buy their old fighter jets. This is after the defence minister clearly stated that the Liberal government would not buy used jets for our air force.
Canadians still remember the embarrassing Liberal purchase of used submarines. Instead of learning from their mistakes, the Liberals have doubled down, sending a direct message to Canadian troops that the government is willing to buy old equipment and that the armed forces must make do. The fact is that the government has turned the replacement of our CF-18s into a circus.
The members of the Canadian Armed Forces are tired of the delays, empty rhetoric, and a defence minister who cannot keep his facts straight. It is finally time for the defence minister to do what is in the best interest of our air force and immediately launch an open and fair competition to replace our entire fleet of CF-18s.