Statement made on 06 October 2010 by Senator Roméo Dallaire
Hon. Roméo Antonius Dallaire:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate and it has to do with the Department of National Defence and funding. The query is about a policy implementation of which we might be unaware, but which has significant ramifications on the operational capability of the Armed Forces.
Last week, a question was asked about the General Jean V. Allard Memorial Library at the Saint-Jean Garrison and the $175,000 that was being cut because there was no operations and maintenance money to keep an essential library and a language school open. At the same time, there was an announcement not very long before that the government would put about $200 million of infrastructure money into the general area of Montreal. On the one side, there seems to be money for acquisition and infrastructure, but on the other, there is no money for operations and maintenance.
We hear more and more about the curtailment of training, ammunition, fuel and training days, and we have the data on that. Has the government taken a decision to reduce the operational capability of the Armed Forces ahead of the end of the 2010 decision on Afghanistan because it has reduced the budget in this fiscal year significantly in National Defence?
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