Madam Speaker, it is very clear in the budget that there is a cutback on long-term funds earmarked for military equipment purchases. The parliamentary secretary tried to skirt that fact, but he did not directly deny it.
Of course, there is an ongoing operational escalator, but that does not address the fact that the government is cutting back our investment over the long term in the military. That is not what we need right now. We need to be honouring our NATO commitments to move toward 2%, not making the kinds of cutbacks the government is talking about. Right from the very start, in its throne speech, it said it wanted Canada to have a leaner military. That just does not make sense, period, but particularly in the context of the world in which we find ourselves.
He talks about the benefits of getting onto the UN Security Council so that Canada can express its values. I would have more confidence in the government's willingness to express its values at that point if it was doing it at this point. We do not hear Liberals talking about international human rights. We do not hear them being willing to confront these issues.
We have vital strategic interests in eastern Europe and Syria. Canada needs to be engaged in a way that invests in our military and reflects our interests. This government is just not doing that.