Senator Gold, let me begin by thanking you for your service to the Senate, to the government and, most of all, to Canadians. Although I’m not really sure if you’re looking forward to retirement, at least we can say that after this week, you may not miss the need to participate in the thrilling Question Period.

My question has to do with the announcement on June 9 by the Prime Minister regarding the increase in defence spending. During the technical briefing that day by officials as well as the comments made by Minister McGuinty the next day, it looked like the Government of Canada was committed to providing a 20% pay increase to members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and I can tell you that people who wear the uniform were thrilled about that.

Remember, words matter.

I say it “looked like” because further comments made by officials and others in the Department of National Defence seemed to be muddying the waters a bit. The media is now reporting that the 20% increase is an overall figure based on factors such as specialized pay, benefits, et cetera. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are becoming distressed.

Senator Gold, can you provide clarity on what the 20% means, particularly since senators will be voting on $9 billion in defence spending —

Thank you for your question. The government indeed made that commitment. It also committed to $2.6 billion, both on a cash basis and on an accrual basis, to empower the military to recruit and retain the personnel it needs to carry out its important mandate.

The government’s plan is to accelerate recruitment and reinforce retention to bring the Canadian Armed Forces to 71,500 regular and 30,000 primary reserve members by 2030. There are 13,000 regular and primary reserve members needed to reach that goal. This would include investments in recruitment and retention efforts to ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces has the personnel it needs to be ready to respond effectively to threats at home and, importantly, to engage meaningfully abroad. The government will have more to say about that in the coming weeks.