SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 307

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 307 - May/2/24
Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, CPC)
  • May/2/24 7:02:47 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. On page 17 of the defence policy update that was tabled a few weeks ago, it states, and I quote: A career with the Canadian Armed Forces is a source of unique pride and confidence among those who have the privilege to serve. Defence will seek to inspire a wider audience of prospective members to consider the opportunity of a life in service to Canada. Let us look at that excerpt in today's context. Unfortunately, it is fair to say that that is a farce. The people who read that are likely thinking, “Give me a break”. Why am I saying that? I served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 22 years during a different time, and I can say that military service is a personal and family commitment. It is a commitment to wear a uniform, to wear the Canadian flag on one's shoulder and to serve one's government. Regardless of the party in power, when a person serves in the Canadian Armed Forces, they must be loyal to their government and they must respond to the orders they receive. It is a commitment unlike any other in a civilian job. For that reason, the government has a major responsibility to its personnel. That is where we have a big problem right now. The purpose of today's debate is to talk about a report on a situation concerning the cost of housing on Canadian military bases. It is important to understand that large military bases across the country provide housing, known as Permanent Married Quarters, for military personnel. This could be apartments, semi-detached homes or single-family homes that military personnel can rent and live in, either on their own or with their families. As I was saying, when someone signs up to serve their country, they come prepared to do what is asked of them. They are asked to deploy. They are posted somewhere in the country on a military base and they have go. They go wherever they are told to go, with their family. This country now has a big problem. First, the cost of military housing on base has increased. Apart from that, however, at least 4,500 military personnel and their families are without housing because of shortages. Not only are the bases short on housing, but 20% of the existing stock is in disrepair. There are mould problems. No one can live there. No one wants to bring a wife and children into these buildings. They could get sick. That is outrageous. The housing shortage is also exacerbating the situation. We are asking our military personnel to find housing in the civilian community. As everyone knows, costs have gone up. Royal Canadian Navy personnel are being told they will be stationed in Halifax or in Esquimalt, on the west coast. They do not have much choice. When they get to Esquimalt, there is no housing on the base. Where do they go? They look for something in or around Victoria. That is not affordable on a military salary. Yes, there are cost-of-living allowances, but those allowances do not come close to covering today's housing costs. That is why some of our personnel are sleeping in tents or in their car. I am not making this up; these are facts reported by the Canadian Armed Forces ombudsman. There are even some in Halifax who are forced to deal with unscrupulous people as they search for housing or do things that are not necessarily legal, because they do not know what else to do. They have to somehow find a way to keep a roof over their heads. This has been going on for the nine years this government has been in office. We always seem to hear the same fine words about how the military is important and they are proud of our military personnel. However, when we look at the reality, in some cases, the government cannot even do the minimum. As I was saying, the minimum is to provide a living environment that is part of military life, which is very different from civilian life, especially given the way military personnel have to be deployed or posted. That environment has to be there. Without that kind of environment, we end up with a situation like the one we are in today, where the Canadian Armed Forces are 16,000 members short. People are leaving in droves. Everyone is leaving, and no one wants in. Young people today do not want to join the Canadian Armed Forces because they have heard the horror stories about the lack of housing and the lack of equipment. Fifty percent of the Canadian Armed Forces' equipment is broken and non-operational. They do not get the sense that the current government really cares about the military. Lip service is one thing. How we deal with this issue is another. Right now, people are turning their backs on the Canadian Armed Forces. At the beginning of my speech, I mentioned the fabled phrase in the government's update. It talks about pride and happiness. That is baloney, because I have never seen military personnel less well taken care of. It has been over 30 years since I enlisted. Morale is at a 30- or 40-year low. Members of the military I know who are still in the system, as well as those who have just left or who have left in the past few years, are all saying the same thing. There are a number of reasons for this. Housing is one reason, but it is not the only reason. The work environment is no longer appealing, and the pride we talked about at the beginning is gone. It is not because people do not want to be proud. When people enlist, that is what they are looking for. They want to be part of this big family, this big defence team that is there to protect Canada's interests at home and abroad. That is the job in a nutshell. We cannot ask a soldier or a young officer to come into the system and end up in situations like this. I do not want to get too personal, but I just wanted to say that my son is in the armed forces and he is going through truly outrageous experiences. I see what is happening and we are just in a different place. Unfortunately, if we do not help out, young people are going to quit and move on. People in the army call it “being in the system”. I have to say that the system is no longer there. The system has lost its purpose, and that is why we are short 16,000 military members and why Canada is unable to carry out its missions. Canada looks like a bit player on the world stage. Yesterday, during a meeting about NORAD, the Minister of National Defence was very honest; I will give him that. NORAD is the organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defence of Canada and the United States. Canada needs to strengthen its defence capabilities because we know that the Chinese and the Russians are trying to enter Canadian waters by air and by sea. We must watch and protect those areas. During this public meeting, the minister said that he was unable to convince his cabinet colleagues to do more for defence. In saying that, the minister admitted that this was not just a matter of money but, rather, a lack of real political will to help our military. Fine words mean nothing. The facts are there. We heard the real story from the mouth of the Minister of National Defence himself. He said that his own people did not want to. They do not care. Nothing is going to improve for the Canadian Armed Forces with a Prime Minister who does not send a clear, strong message. Money is one thing, political will is another. When it comes to pride, it is clear that our military is always able to hold its own. They are proud people at heart. They want to serve proudly. When a government can show that there is political will, when a government says it is really proud of its forces and is making efforts to effect change, soldiers adapt and co-operate. Conversely, when they feel there is no political will, they lose morale and get discouraged. I experienced that in the 1990s under the Chrétien government. The Canadian Forces were a laughing stock. Vehicles could not climb hills. Everything was in shambles. In times like that, military personnel need to be self-motivated. They need a government that does not just talk the talk with defence updates but actually shows up to take care of its people. We need to stop paying lip service and start taking concrete action. Budget cuts are happening throughout the Canadian Armed Forces, and we found out today that Canadian soldiers are going to be deployed to eastern Europe without going through training first. That is how bad things are. Our soldiers cannot even be trained before they leave for a mission because the government is no longer capable of doing it and is not managing things properly. What we want is personnel who are ready for combat, who are ready to safeguard national security. However, we need to begin by figuring out how to put a roof over our soldiers' heads. Canada, as a country, is currently unable to do so. That is embarrassing. I hope this government will use the time it has left to come up with solutions quickly.
1644 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 307 - May/2/24
Mrs. Sherry Romanado (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)
  • May/2/24 7:54:01 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, interestingly enough, the member and I have not had the chance to work together. We were elected the same year, but we have not had a chance to work together. I would like to thank him for the work he is doing on the national defence committee. I wanted to talk to him about postings. He did talk about postings and the difficulties with respect to finding homes for our military families when they move every two or three years, depending on where they are being posted. I think the member knows I have two children serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, so I know very well the challenges that families face. He mentioned there was no money in the budget for military housing. Page 307 does have information with respect to the commitment made. Could the member give us an example of something he heard during the study on maybe extending the length of time for postings? Rather than having a posting every two or three years, maybe that could be expanded to five or six years, instead of having to move around so frequently. I am not sure if that is something he heard during the study.
201 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border