House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 46% of the vote.
Veterans Affairs May 18th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the justice minister has allowed a truce in the Equitas veterans lawsuit to fall apart and her lawyers are back attacking veterans in court. The Prime Minister promised to uphold the sacred obligation our country owes to our veterans, yet his justice minister has turned her lawyers on veterans.
Will the justice minister denounce these tactics and treat our veterans with care, compassion, and respect?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, I am going to end much how I began and compare it to the decade of darkness under the Chrétien Liberals, when they cancelled the Sea King as part of the election campaign. The irony is that the minister will now be landing simulators and receiving the Cyclone. A generation later, over 25 years, we are finally receiving replacement aircraft because of the political decision in 1993.
Can the minister confirm to the fighter community and to the Royal Canadian Air Force that we are not going to see the same political games, where we will have a next-generation fighter not online until 20 or 30 years from now?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, on the fixed-wing SAR process, the minister provided a two-year time frame for completion or at least announcement of that aircraft. I am wondering why that project was specifically chosen to be immune from the delays or the re-profiling of monies, particularly when we have a variety of SAR assets already covering that capability. Why were certain programs taken out of the procurement freeze? What was his rationale for that one not to be frozen?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, the one difference and, in fact, the reason I am so worried about another era of darkness for the military is that minister Collenette in the Chrétien government at least waited until the white paper was completed before the rounds of cuts. We already have significant cuts and delays to procurement before the defence review itself.
If the defence review process recommends a streamlining or a transformation in the full-time employees, or FTEs, within the Department of National Defence, will the minister cut personnel levels within the Canadian Armed Forces, much like the Liberals did in the mid-1990s?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, going back to my concern about the minister's cuts operationally and procurement-wise before his defence review, it concerned me that tonight, in responding to my colleague from Edmonton West about re-profiling money, he said, “We will re-profile the money back if and when it is needed”.
Is the minister confirming to the House that there is a very good chance that, as a result of this review, none of that almost $4 billion will come back into the fiscal framework?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, the minister did indeed inherit some stuff from the previous government, and that was actually what he was showcasing in terms of the good news here tonight. In response to questions from the parliamentary secretary for public works, he outlined improvements to the CP-140, Halifax-class modernization, and even the temporary tanker replacement with the Davie shipyard.
Could the minister confirm to the House that those new projects, that good news, are actually programs he inherited from the previous government?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, I refer the minister to page 170 of the estimates for that specific cut.
However, I refer back to his statement on the defence review. He is looking to conduct the defence review to help inform the development of a modern defence policy, but it is clear he is already making cuts and procurement re-profilings before this defence review. Does this mean there are more cuts or reductions coming after the review?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, it is important to focus here. I am not talking just capital costs and procurement. There is a specific $59-million cut to combat and support operations. That is an operational cut. Therefore, could the minister confirm that is indeed a reduction, or a cut?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, as a maritime helicopter guy, I should stop all this focus on a fighter and move on.
The minister, in his estimates and the budget, has outlined capital cuts to the Canadian Armed Forces of $3.7 billion, an estimate reduction of $300 million, and specific cuts to combat and support operations of $59 million. That is the information we are looking at today. Why has the minister made such significant cuts before the defence review has started?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2016
Mr. Chair, if I could summarize what the minister is saying, it is that we are not sure of the operation in, say, 2030, so we need a versatile, interoperable aircraft that is potentially a dominant aircraft 20 years from now. Does that not sound like the F-35s, as opposed to an updated version of a 1970s or 1980s fighter?