Discussion · Government Orders
Arnold Viersen Conservative
“The Liberals claim they are spending more on defence than the Conservatives did, but they are just using tricky accounting. They counted the Coast Guard as part of the military to make their numbers look bigger. Our military is not doing any better than it was under Stephen Harper. I want the member to comment on this.”
“Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member’s speech, and I listened to the Liberals’ questions about this, and the Liberals keep touting the fact that they are spending more money than we did when we were in power. A couple of things are the case. First is the Liberals’ fancy accounting when it comes to what they are spending money on in the military. I would point out that they moved the Coast Guard from being a civilian organization to being a military organization. Second, the Canadian Armed Forces’ capabilities have not been improved. Nobody thinks the Canadian Army is in better shape today than it was under Stephen Harper, so I am just wondering if the hon. member has any comments about that.”
Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member’s speech, and I listened to the Liberals’ questions about this, and the Liberals keep touting the fact that they are spending more money than we did when we were in power. A couple of things are the case. First is the Liberals’ fancy accounting when it comes to what they are spending money on in the military. I would point out that they moved the Coast Guard from being a civilian organization to being a military organization. Second, the Canadian Armed Forces’ capabilities have not been improved. Nobody thinks the Canadian Army is in better shape today than it was under Stephen Harper, so I am just wondering if the hon. member has any comments about that.