QUESTION PERIOD — National Defence
Military Equipment
June 21, 2023
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. We learned from La Presse that Canadian soldiers based in Latvia had to buy their own helmets with better hearing protection, ammunition belts and rain gear to be able to carry out their mission properly.
This is not the first time that I have brought this up, but I want to echo the observation made by journalist Stéphanie Grammond, who said that this is truly shameful. We are not talking here about procuring fighter planes or submarines. We are talking about basic equipment that is easy to find on the market.
Our soldiers are the victims of bureaucratic red tape at Public Services and Procurement Canada, which spends more time talking than getting things done. That leads to a huge duplication of costs.
Leader, could your Prime Minister recognize how shamefully these soldiers in Latvia are being treated and tell us when the government intends to get its procurement system in order?
Thank you for the question. There are many challenges associated with the procurement system, and you are right to point that out. That being said, the government is stepping up and working on it with financial support for the Canadian Armed Forces and other measures.
In that respect, it is important to remember that this government has increased financial support for our armed forces year after year. The percentage of our GDP dedicated to defence continues to rise. There is a lot of work to be done, including resolving the problems that you mentioned, but the government is aware of that and is working on it.
The government you represent claims to have developed an economic policy based on the countries of Indochina to counter China’s power in the Asia-Pacific region. The same article in La Presse reported that the growing number of delays in equipment procurement and chronic underinvestment in the military have ensured that Canada is not welcome in AUKUS, the pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States that was created in 2021 to counter Chinese power.
Are we to conclude that Canada and its military are no longer reliable enough to be part of certain strategic alliances with some of the world’s major powers?
No; the answer is no. It is true that the Canadian Armed Forces are facing challenges, as you point out, but it is not true that we are not prepared to play our role. On the contrary, we have long-standing partnerships with our allies, including those who are in that region.
As I already explained in response to a question on the same topic, there are very specific reasons why Canada was not part of this small group. It is about the nuclear submarines that were central to this organization. That being said, Canada continues to play an important role everywhere, but especially in defending our interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
