Peter MacKay

[National Defence, March 18th, 2013]

Wrong again, Mr. Speaker. In fact, what we have seen time and time again from the member and members of the NDP is that they oppose all of the investments we made; whether they be in equipment; whether they be in the infrastructure, where members train, work, live and raise their families; whether they have been in the programs that support them. It is the same with Veterans Affairs; we have made historic, significant investments across the board. We have seen $500 million more going to the army annually.

What is consistent, though, is the opposition and the efforts by the member and his party to oppose these investments and improvements for the military and their families.

[National Defence, March 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that is in fact not true. I was meeting with military families this morning, as I do regularly. The military family resource centres across the country have expanded their scope and their ability to reach out to help military families when they need it.

We have seen historic investments, across the board, in infrastructure, in personnel, in progress, in readiness, in all of the ability the military have to not only serve our country at home and abroad but to also support their families—historic levels—all of which were opposed by this member and her party.

[National Defence, March 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my Nova Scotia colleague from Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley for his hard work in support of the military and the economy.

The national shipbuilding procurement strategy was created to end the boom and bust cycle that was plaguing workers in the Canadian shipbuilding industry. Today in Nova Scotia, our Conservative government announced the signing of the definition contract with Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax for the Arctic/offshore patrol ship project. This will build on the important work that is being done in the design phase to see the Irving shipyard build the ships that the Royal Canadian Navy needs to protect our sovereignty and to carry out the type of coastal patrols that we need. We are proud of this contract—

[National Defence, March 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as the member would know, the supplementary estimates were at committee that met yesterday. Prior to that committee meeting, it was brought to my attention by officials that they had mistakenly placed figures in the wrong column. They corrected that prior to the committee meeting taking place. They sent a letter to the chair. Officials answered for that yesterday at committee. I explained it quite simply.

The reality is that no matter what figures are there, we know the opposition is not going to support the Canadian Forces' efforts to rebuild their efficiencies, to rebuild their equipment, to rebuild their infrastructure across the country. That has been the record of the no-defence party.

[National Defence, March 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I already spoke about the reductions in contracting and the savings that are found there. This is all being done in a very systematic, prudent fashion with the military, with all branches of the Canadian Forces, in a deliberate way. We are taking a centralizing approach when it comes to the training, when it comes to the services that are provided across the country.

What we do know is that when it comes to extraction of teeth, the member and his party presided over an unprecedented gutting of the Canadian armed forces. Now he is running around suggesting he has the solutions. This is like a pyromaniac who wants to join the fire department.

[National Defence, March 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I just indicated, we are delivering savings approaching half a billion dollars by streamlining, simplifying and centralizing procedure processes, including the human resources process. Of course, the end of the Afghanistan mission will see more of those savings. The member and the member for St. John's East would have this department in a shambles, as did the Liberals, with their proposals for cuts across the board.

[National Defence, March 6th, 2013]

The reality, Mr. Speaker, is that in fact contracting costs are coming down. In fact, the Department of National Defence is finding efficiencies as part of the government-wide spending reviews. We have seen examples of that, where we have reduced the number of contracts, contractors and resources extended on contracting, saving almost half a billion dollars.

The Department of National Defence continues to find ways to streamline and find efficiencies, but we all know that the defence of this country would have no teeth and no tail if this minister and his party had anything to say about it.

[National Defence, March 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that is rich, coming from the member and his party. They have continually opposed all of the investments, the augmentation that we have made for the Canadian Forces.

To be clear, the budgets of the Canadian Forces, including the army, have significantly increased since 2006. In fact last year, the army's annual budget was $500 million more than it was in 2006.

After years of unprecedented growth, we are realigning with the end of the combat mission in Afghanistan. We have seen the civilian workforce that was backfilling positions held by reserve and regular members now being brought back to a regular tempo. We will continue to invest.

[National Defence, March 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as the member would know, Canada's north and our efforts to augment security in the Arctic remain central to the Government of Canada's efforts through our years in government.

The northern strategy remains central. The increase in Canada's presence and sovereignty in the Arctic is apparent. The Canadian army will continue to conduct training exercises that are ongoing now. The opposition, including that member, has been critical of these efforts throughout all the time we have put into infrastructure, into new equipment, into exercises that augment Canada's sovereignty and security.

[National Defence, March 1st, 2013]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, the Department of National Defence has seen unprecedented growth in investment during our time in office, whether it be investments in our infrastructure, equipment, support for our personnel and programs and our readiness.

We have been participating internationally, making a real difference in the world, as the Canadian armed forces has always done, building on the legacy and the greatness standing on the shoulders of our veterans.

Consistently the member and his party have opposed those measures to improve the lives of members of the Canadian Forces, their families and our veterans.