The Real Conservative Record on Defence

May 26, 2015

This week, our Defence Minister, Jason Kenney, issued a bombastic statement about his government’s record on national defence since taking office, and his willingness to present that record for judgment by Canadians in the next election. So let us examine that record.

We start with funding for the military. As Mr. Kenney knows all too well, he and his fellow Conservatives made significant promises about buying new equipment for our troops, but have consistently failed to deliver.

Since 2012, they axed nearly $5 billion from the budget available for defence. They let $10 billion of approved funding go unspent since 2007. This includes nearly $7 billion in DND’s capital budget – money that was allocated for new equipment like search and rescue aircraft, helicopters, trucks, and ships.

I would respectfully say that this government’s record on defence is clear, and it is not one to make Canadians proud.
-Joyce Murray

These cuts have driven defence spending below one percent of GDP – the lowest share of GDP since the 1930s, and well below our expected spending commitment as a member of NATO. The new funding escalator announced in the recent budget, which Mr. Kenney proudly trumpets, in fact does not kick in until 2017. And under the government’s funding plan, the defence budget will continue to fall to 0.89 percent of GDP by 2027.

The results of these cuts are evident: documents recently tabled in Parliament have revealed that this government has achieved almost none of the procurement goals contained in its 2008 Canada First Defence Strategy. In fact DND declared the strategy “unaffordable” several years ago, and abandoned it. The Minister has thus far been unable to say when we can expect a new strategy, or what it will say.

Further, these cuts have meant that urgently needed equipment is not making its way into the ranks, and our Armed Forces are left trying to make do with outdated tools.

For example, the bungled procurement of new supply ships – still years away from entering service – forced Canadian navy technicians to scrounge on eBay for parts to keep our 45-year old supply vessels operating. These ships were recently deemed “dangerous and unsafe” and retired from service, leaving Canada with no supply ships for the next decade. This Conservative government’s failure to deliver on promised – and desperately needed – equipment is the tip of the iceberg.

It is Mr. Harper’s treatment of those who wear the uniform that reveals what he really thinks of them.

Remember, this is the government that praised reservist members of the Forces, but decreased the budget dedicated to reservist pay, and reduced their training budget to pay for things like income splitting – a $2,000 tax break for the wealthiest few. Furthermore, our reserve units are now under strength due in part to the closure of recruiting centers.

This is the same government that eliminated danger pay for our soldiers in Afghanistan, depriving military of pay for serving in incredibly dangerous places, risking life and limb in service to their country. It was only when this cut went public that the Prime Minister felt sufficiently embarrassed to reverse his decision.

When a Canadian Armed Forces soldier took her own life, and her parents decided they wouldn’t participate in the Board of Inquiry into her death, Mr. Harper’s government not only sent them a legal summons to force them to appear, it also sent them the bill for the cost of that summons.

This is a government, and a Minister, that violated existing security protocols by exposing the identities of Canadian Armed Forces members serving in Iraq and Kuwait.

Our troops and their families were placed at risk to produce a blatantly partisan self-promotion video for the Prime Minister’s personal website.

I would respectfully say that this government’s record on defence is clear, and it is not one to make Canadians proud.

Joyce Murray, M.P. for Vancouver Quadra
Liberal Critic for National Defence