Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her question. I know that she cares a whole lot about our men and women in uniform, and I appreciate that.
Our government committed to giving our soldiers the training, support, and equipment they need to successfully carry out the missions they are assigned, and we are keeping our promise.
Our new defence policy and budget 2017 will help us meet that objective. First, I would like to address the matter of the $8.48 billion. It is true that budget 2017 strategically deferred an amount of $8.48 billion to later years. Contrary to what the hon. member and others claim, the department's budget was not cut. The funds were simply deferred. This deferral of funds will not delay the execution of contracts and will not affect the timing of projects. The funding will be available when it is needed.
This strategic deferral is not a matter of funding but of accounting. This approach seeks to ensure that the funding for major projects is available at the point in the project schedule when it is needed. It takes into account the changes made to major government projects as they progress.
When funds have to be deferred, we make sure it is done in accordance with our procurement plan. We put money aside during good years to cover the acquisition and in-service support costs of these projects.
The deferral of $8.48 billion balanced the books prior to the approval of our new defence policy by transferring 2017 funds to 2034-35, 2035-36, and beyond. We will allocate $4.4 billion to fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, $2 billion to Canadian surface combatant in-service support, $0.8 billion to Arctic and offshore patrol ships, $0.3 billion to light armoured vehicles, and $1 billion to various other projects.
Our new defence policy, which was released on June 7, outlines an increase in military spending of more than 70% over the next 10 years, a funding level that is affordable and realistic.
Costing was supported by external experts, and our methodology was verified by five external accounting firms. This long-term funding will provide the stability required to make major investments that meet today's needs while also enabling us to plan for the future.
Our armed forces need to know that the resources will be available when they are required. Among the investments announced in our new policy, we are acquiring 15 Canadian surface combatants, for which full funding is assured under our policy. We are procuring 88 fighter jets to replace the current fleet of CF-18s in order to strengthen our sovereignty and keep our commitments to NORAD and NATO. The fleet of light armoured vehicles will be fully modernized. We are also investing in land capabilities such as ground-based air defence and training simulators. Projects such as the Arctic and offshore patrol ships and tactical armoured patrol vehicles continue to move forward.
