Statement made on 18 October 2011 by Senator Roméo Dallaire
Hon. Roméo Antonius Dallaire:
Madam Leader, in another life I was an assistant deputy minister and we were always afraid of Friday afternoons, because there was always a panic. There was always a crisis on Friday afternoons. We often wondered where these crises came from and who created them. The more time I spend on the Hill, the more I realize that they start here, with the government on Parliament Hill.
For example, on Friday afternoon it was announced that the Veterans Affairs budget would be cut by $226 million over two years. It was Friday afternoon and there was no one, or practically no one, there to respond.
Is this $226 million — which, over two years, represents approximately 5 per cent of the Veterans Affairs budget — part of the 5 per cent budget cuts from last year and in anticipation of the 5 per cent cuts next year? Or is this something completely different?
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