Ottawa, ON – Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Services and Procurement, and the Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative Shadow Minister for National Defence, issued the following statement calling on the Liberals to fix the broken military procurement system and prioritize national security:

“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his threats towards Canada and our NATO allies are demonstrating why it is essential for Canada to have a serious defence policy backed by real financial commitments and a credible procurement process.

“The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a report today exposing what we knew all along. Liberals say one thing and do another. While they claim that they will spend on national defence, the PBO exposed the fact that these commitments are continually pushed back to future years, to the point of potentially overloading our procurement system and casting doubts on its medium to long term sustainability.

“The reality is that Justin Trudeau has failed to provide the women and men in our military with the equipment they need. Our procurement system is broken, and its future viability is now in question following years of mishandling and inflationary pressures. What is the government’s plan to avoid the inevitable bottleneck and further delays; how do the Liberals plan on ensuring Canada has the equipment we need to defend ourselves?

“Now more than ever, as the world faces increased Russian aggression, it is imperative we go beyond simply talking and start to take serious action to protect Canada at home and abroad. Canadians and our NATO allies deserve no less.

“Canada’s Conservatives are the only party that will stand up for our men and women in uniform and ensure that they have the necessary equipment to protect our country.”