Discussion · Government Orders
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Québécois
“The government says it wants to spend more on defence to meet NATO targets. It also inflates its defence numbers. Now it is cutting spending across departments, including the military. That makes no sense.”
“Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. We have already talked about the government’s creative accounting to inflate defence figures by boosting salaries and including the Coast Guard. What we are also learning is that the government has directed all departments to make spending cuts. At a time when military spending needs to increase in order to meet NATO targets and when the government says that it intends to reinvest in defence, it would be reasonable to expect National Defence to be exempt from those cuts. Apparently, this is not the case, as DND is also affected by the cuts. I am struggling to find the logic in that. It simply does not make sense to me.”
Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. We have already talked about the government’s creative accounting to inflate defence figures by boosting salaries and including the Coast Guard. What we are also learning is that the government has directed all departments to make spending cuts. At a time when military spending needs to increase in order to meet NATO targets and when the government says that it intends to reinvest in defence, it would be reasonable to expect National Defence to be exempt from those cuts. Apparently, this is not the case, as DND is also affected by the cuts. I am struggling to find the logic in that. It simply does not make sense to me.