Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook for the incredible work he does in the House of Commons and for his straight talk. His passion is unmistakable. We are very grateful for his work.
Yes, as he said, our government has made historic investments in the Canadian Armed Forces. As previously mentioned, we are increasing spending by 70%, and we also plan to significantly strengthen the capabilities of the Royal Canadian Navy. As the member indicated, the Minister of National Defence was in Halifax earlier this month to help mark the beginning of construction of the fourth Arctic offshore patrol ship, HMCS William Hall. I know my colleague is also very proud of the work being done by the employees at the Irving shipyard.
I also want to take a moment to thank the workers at the Seaspan and Davie shipyards for the excellent work they do. We are proud to have them as partners. We are proud that they have been awarded these contracts and that they are helping to provide the Royal Canadian Navy with the equipment needed for Canadian Armed Forces personnel to do their jobs. We are very grateful to them.