QUESTION PERIOD — National Defence
Equipment Renewal
June 16, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Leader, in 2017, your government announced investments totalling $533 billion to renew the equipment used by our armed forces. That equipment has been obsolete for many years, as a report from the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence noted. The Liberal government made a big ruckus over its big announcement. Three years on, however, the Auditor General is seeing troubling delays and a blatant lack of government follow-up, considering how much money is being spent.
There is an urgent need to equip our armed forces, but I feel like we’re seeing to the needs of others before seeing to our own, like when we sent masks to China when the COVID-19 crisis hit.
Leader, as a senator and member of this chamber, do you think it’s acceptable to not follow up more rigorously on your fellow senators’ work and clear recommendations? In my opinion, this demonstrates a lack of respect towards the senators.
I thank the honourable senator for his question. This is not about a lack of respect. On the contrary, the Senate has always played a key role in promoting the importance of the armed forces and of providing adequate funding. We can be proud of the Senate committee’s work, not only in this Parliament but also in previous Parliaments. It will come as no surprise to honourable senators that the challenge of providing funding for the armed forces has been around for a long time and that this has been dragging on for years. It is a complex process and there are difficult issues to deal with. In that regard, the government is working hard to ensure that our armed forces have the equipment they need to properly defend our national interests.
Can you guarantee that your government is not going to cut or delay its military spending in order to cover the cost of the COVID-19-related programs?
Thank you for that important question. Based on the information I have, notwithstanding the fact that an enormous amount of money is being spent because of this crisis, the government has no intention of cutting the budget of the armed forces despite the spending that has, unfortunately, been necessary to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
