Senator Carignan: Speaking of making decisions to meet the needs of the Armed Forces, we learned this week that our troops deployed in Latvia are so under-equipped that they have to procure essential protective equipment themselves, using their own money.

This is despite the fact that the government doesn’t spend its entire procurement budget. In 2021, it left $1 billion on the table without spending it.

How can you explain to Canadian military personnel that they have to pay for protective equipment out of their own pockets, when their colleagues, especially the Danes, are better equipped, not to mention that the Danish government buys its equipment from Canada?

Senator Gold: Obviously, our Armed Forces need to be equipped with whatever it takes to do their job of defending our country and our interests.

The government continues to invest more in the military. The facts you have outlined are most regrettable. I’m told that the Government of Canada will continue to support our Canadian Forces with the necessary funds in a prudent manner.

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