Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. We learned from La Presse that Canadian soldiers based in Latvia had to buy their own helmets with better hearing protection, ammunition belts and rain gear to be able to carry out their mission properly.

This is not the first time that I have brought this up, but I want to echo the observation made by journalist Stéphanie Grammond, who said that this is truly shameful. We are not talking here about procuring fighter planes or submarines. We are talking about basic equipment that is easy to find on the market.

Our soldiers are the victims of bureaucratic red tape at Public Services and Procurement Canada, which spends more time talking than getting things done. That leads to a huge duplication of costs.

Leader, could your Prime Minister recognize how shamefully these soldiers in Latvia are being treated and tell us when the government intends to get its procurement system in order?