Official Hansard
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Edmonton West. On behalf of the people of Mégantic—L’Érable—Lotbinière, let me begin by paying tribute to the four soldiers who lost their lives in the fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta, on October 17. Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lykkemark each left behind a grieving family, loved ones, and brothers and sisters in arms. I offer my deepest condolences to those who are in mourning. Coming from a region that went through its own serious tragedy, I know from experience that such devastating events leave a lasting impact. I hope they can draw on their resilience to overcome this painful ordeal, both for themselves and for the families of the service members who lost their lives. They were simply there to train, to do their duty for their country. They wanted to have a good time training and doing what they loved. On behalf of my constituents, I would like to say that we owe them a debt of respect, gratitude and support. Let us imagine for a moment a Canadian soldier getting ready to deploy. He has completed his training, he knows his team and he knows why he wears the uniform. However, just as he is about to leave, one question remains: Will he have all the equipment he needs to carry out his mission safely? He might be leaving behind a family, loved ones, a partner, children or parents who are waiting for him to come home. These people trust our country to have the decency to provide the necessary equipment to those who are putting their lives on the line and risking their physical safety to protect us and protect others. However, after 10 years of Liberal rule, procurement delays are mounting, costs are rising and our military personnel are still waiting for essential equipment. It is in the context of the terrible conditions facing our military personnel that we are discussing Bill C-40, which supposedly seeks to reorganize military procurement in Canada. We expected concrete action, but what this old Liberal government is proposing yet again is to do what it has done best since it took office, that is, create a new structure. This time, it is a new Crown corporation. I do not think that a new organizational chart is what our military personnel need. What they need is equipment that is reliable, available and delivered on time. Where are the ships? Where are the jets? Where is the ammunition? These are the questions that our military members are asking. The Conservatives will always stand with the men and women who serve our country, now and in the future. We have to make sure that every dollar we spend is well spent, meets their needs and serves to protect our country or people, when we participate in support operations, for instance. That money is, of course, entrusted to the government by Canadians. As members are aware, families are having to make tough choices right now. In Quebec and elsewhere, the price of everything, like groceries, is going up. Canadians are careful about how much gas they put in their cars. Canadians have to calculate how much is left at the end of the month to pay the bills. Every penny counts. When spending goes up, families have to reconsider their priorities, and sometimes they have to forgo some larger purchases. I think that families expect the same level of discipline from their government. While families are stretching their money as far as it will go, the government in Ottawa keeps making more and more announcements and creating more and more bureaucracy. Not that long ago, in October 2025, the Liberal government established the Defence Investment Agency. It subsequently sought to modify the agency’s status through Bill C-31. Today, it is proposing yet another change, namely, transforming it into a Crown corporation. This is nothing short of a bureaucratic lasagna. When a problem arises, the government adds another administrative layer. When a new problem emerges, it adds another layer of red tape. When another new problem surfaces, it piles on a new layer of management. That is how it operates. That is the recipe for Liberal lasagna. Canadians do not need more announcements. Our armed forces do not need a new organizational chart. They just need equipment that works and enough ammunition to be able to do their job properly. In the real world, families and small businesses cannot just keep adding layers of paperwork to avoid paying their bills. At the end of the month, they have to pay. Unfortunately, from what we are hearing, people cannot afford to pay for their items at the grocery store checkout. There are too many stories of mothers having to take diapers out of their cart just to bring the total down. Why is the government giving itself permission to keep spending while families have to do without? What Liberal problems will this new organization actually solve? How much will this reorganization cost? While the Liberals are once again reorganizing their offices, our men and women in uniform are waiting. All of this leads to another problem. While they are waiting, another question arises. Why do we need to create a new corporation? Is it to take certain important decision-making powers away from the state, away from Parliament, so that money can be spent out of the public eye? No, of course not. The Liberals would surely never do something like that, and yet it seems that is exactly what is happening. Bill C-40 provides for 17 cases in which an unelected official may grant an exception so that a competitive procurement process does not have to be conducted. That is a lot. Some exceptions are likely necessary. However, when contracts can be awarded without any real competition, how do we prevent favouritism and the risk of corruption? As I said, we have every right to have doubts. Canadians have every right to have doubts. I am thinking about Brookfield and all the other situations where members of the Liberal club seem to enjoy the bounty of the Prime Minister’s generosity using Canadians’ money, which families will have to pay back sooner or later. The government is not doing the borrowing on its account. The government is borrowing on behalf of families. At the end of the day, Canadians are the ones who are going to pay for all this borrowing. It is not the government’s money. It is Canadians’ money, and Canadians have a right to know how it is being spent. I want to make that clear. It may be that, when it comes to defence and national security, direct procurement is required to meet urgent needs. Under Prime Minister Harper, this was used during the war in Afghanistan, for example. However, it does not mean that we should abandon accountability. It does not mean that the government can simply say that it needs such and such a thing and that we have to take it at its word. There needs to be accountability. It is a matter of trust. After more than 10 years of Liberal promises, Canadians expect more meaningful action. They expect jets, ships and ammunition, not just more Liberal announcements. What is more, the issue of transparency needs to be addressed. It goes well beyond Bill C-40. We have a clear example with the Saab GlobalEye aircraft. The government announced Saab as the preferred supplier for the airborne early warning system. Was the Royal Canadian Air Force consulted? Were its needs taken into consideration? The silence we are hearing right now is exactly the response we have received. We do not know. Canadians deserve answers. The F-35 file is another example of the consequences of the Liberals’ hesitation. The cost overruns of the F-35 program now total $8.7 billion. Behind these billions in cost overruns are workers, parents, and families trying to make ends meet. I can say that those families would know exactly what to do with that money. The Conservatives want to see major military procurement projects prioritized within the Privy Council Office, rather than the creation of additional administrative structures. When every decision is made, one consideration must remain paramount: the duty to protect Canadians, which is the very purpose for which the Canadian Armed Forces exist and are trained. When our soldiers receive training but are not provided with the equipment they need to carry out their missions, the government is putting itself in a difficult position and, unfortunately, sending military personnel into challenging situations. We will continue to advocate for and demand the equipment necessary to protect our country. Unfortunately, with the Liberals, it is always the same story: promises to do better, announcements of sweeping reforms, billions of dollars spent on bureaucracy and repeated demands that Canadians be patient and foot the bill without question. After 11 years of Liberal government, the Prime Minister is still talking about changing the structure. Eleven years of waiting is 11 years too long. No one goes to war with paper and pencils. No one defends peace by creating new offices, yet that is largely what the Liberals are offering our armed forces through Bill C‑40. We will examine this bill carefully to ensure that our armed forces receive the equipment they need and that decisions can be made in a timely manner.
